diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450-8.txt | 6935 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 111610 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 201263 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450-h/38450-h.htm | 8616 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450-h/images/illus-001.jpg | bin | 0 -> 85474 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450.txt | 6935 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 38450.zip | bin | 0 -> 111589 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 |
10 files changed, 22502 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/38450-8.txt b/38450-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9f7ce1d --- /dev/null +++ b/38450-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6935 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence + The Lost Channel + +Author: Harry Gordon + +Release Date: December 31, 2011 [EBook #38450] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + + + + +[Illustration: The wave caught the _Rambler_ broadside, and +in an instant she was beached high and dry on the bar.] + + + + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOAT +BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE + +OR + +THE LOST CHANNEL + +By HARRY GORDON + +Author of + + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Colorado" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Amazon" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbia" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio" + +A. L. BURT COMPANY + +NEW YORK + + + + +Copyright, 1913 + +By A. L. Burt Company + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE + + + + +CONTENTS + + I--A Mysterious Visitor + II--A Treacherous Guest + III--Arrested for Piracy + IV--Concerning a Lost Channel + V--Teddy Gives an Exhibition + VI--Captain Joe Takes a Prisoner + VII--Case Has His Doubts + VIII--The Discovery of Max + IX--A Busy Night in Quebec + X--The Menagerie in Action + XI--The Crew Takes a Tumble + XII--Rivermen With a Thirst + XIII--A Meeting at Montreal + XIV--An Old Friend Appears + XV--Through the Famous Rapids + XVI--A Call from Wreckers + XVII--Captain Joe's Night Visit + XVIII--It Is Now Clay's Turn + XIX--A Splash of Water + XX--Lifting a Sunken Launch + XXI--Down in the Whirlpool + XXII--What the Eddy Brought Up + XXIII--The Lost Charter Is Found + + + + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR + + +It was dark on the St. Lawrence River at nine o'clock that August +night. There would be a moon later, but the clouds drifting in from +the bay might or might not hold the landscape in darkness until +morning. The tide was running in, and with it came a faint fog from +the distant coast of Newfoundland. + +Only one light showed on the dark surface of the river in the vicinity +of St. Luce, and this came from the deck of a motor boat, anchored +well out from the landing on the south side of the stream, fifty miles +or more from Point des Montes, which is where the St. Lawrence widens +out to the north to form the upper part of the bay of the same name. + +The light on the motor boat came from an electric lamp set at the +prow, six feet above the deck. It showed as trim and powerful a craft +as ever pushed her nose into those waters. + +Those who have followed the adventures of the Six River Motor Boat +Boys will not need to be told here of the strength, speed and perfect +equipment of the _Rambler_. The motors were suitable for a sea-going +tug, and the boat had all the conveniences known to modern +shipbuilders. She had carried her present crew in safety up the Amazon +to its source, down the Columbia from its headwaters, through the +Colorado to the Grand Canyon, and down the Mississippi from its source +to the Gulf of Mexico. + +All these trips had been crowded with adventure, but both the boys and +the boat had proved equal to every emergency. At the conclusion of the +Mississippi journey, the boys of the Six River Motor Boat Club had +decided to explore the St. Lawrence river from the Gulf to Lake +Ontario. + +The _Rambler_ had been shipped by rail to a point on the coast of New +Brunswick, and the remainder of the journey to St. Luce had been made +by water along the treacherous coasts of New Brunswick and Quebec. A +fresh supply of gasoline had been taken on just before night fell, and +on the approach of daylight the boys would be on their way up the +stream. + +Although it was early August, the night was decidedly cold, and +Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, Julian Shafer, and Cornelius Witters, +the four boys who had embarked on the trip, were sitting snugly around +a coal fire in the cabin. They were sturdy, healthy, merry-hearted +lads of about sixteen, all from Chicago, and all without family ties +of any kind so far as they knew. They had been reared in the streets +of the big city, and had become possessed of the _Rambler_ by a series +of adventures which the readers of the previous volumes of this series +will readily recall. + +The night grew darker as it grew older, and a strong wind came up from +the bay, bobbing the _Rambler_ about drunkenly. Clayton Emmett--always +just "Clay" to his chums--arose from his chair after a particularly +fierce blast from the wind and approached the cabin door. + +"Don't open that door!" shouted Alex Smithwick. "We'll be sent +smashing through the back wall if you do. This night makes me think of +a smiling summer day in Chicago harbor,--it's so different!" + +"Company!" Clay answered, excitedly, "We're going to have company. +Listen!" + +"Yes," laughed Jule Shafer, "I've got a flashlight of any one rowing +out to us to-night. The river is too rough for a rowboat." + +"Now you look here, Captain Joe," Clay went on, "don't you go start +anything!" + +This last remark was made to a white bulldog of sinister aspect which +had arisen from a rug in a corner of the cabin and now stood at Clay's +side, growling threateningly. Joe wagged a stumpy tail in +acknowledgment of the advice, but dashed out, snarling, as Clay opened +the door and gained the deck. + +"All right; go to it!" Alex laughed, as the door closed behind the +two. "Stick out on deck a spell and the wind will do the rest." + +Case Witters--he was never anything but "Case" to his friends--went to +the door and looked out through the blurred glass, wiping the inside +of the panel with his sleeve in order to get a clearer view. + +"What's coming off?" demanded Jule. + +"I hope we'll be able to get away on one trip without some one butting +in," suggested Case. + +"Say, now, look at Teddy," cried Jule, springing to his feet. + +"Teddy" was a quarter-grown grizzly bear. He had been captured on the +Columbia river, and had been a great pet of the boys ever since. He +now rose from the rug which he had occupied in company with Captain +Joe, the white bulldog, and shambled over to the door, against which +he lifted a pair of capable paws in an effort to get a view of the +deck. + +"Rubberneck!" called Alex, digging the cub in the ribs. + +"You know what you'll come to if you talk slang!" Jule grinned. +"You'll have to wash dishes for a week. We all agreed to that, you +know," he added as Alex wrinkled a freckled nose and pointed to the +bear cub still trying to look out. + +"Why don't you let him out?" he asked. "If the wind blows his hide +off, we'll make a rug of it. What is Clay doing?" + +Case did not reply to the question. Instead, he opened the door, +swinging it back with a bang, and both boy and bear ran out on deck. +The first thing Teddy did was to sit up on his hind legs and box at +the wind, which rumpled his fur and brought moisture to his little +round eyes. Boxing was one of the accomplishments taught him by the +boys, and he took great pride in it. + +Alex closed the door and, with Jule at his side, stood looking out on +deck. Clay, Case and the two pets stood at the prow, gazing down on +the river. + +Directly the top of a worn fur cap made its appearance above the +gunwale of the boat, followed almost immediately by the head and +shoulders of a man. Then Alex and Jule both rushed out of the cabin. + +"He must be a peach, whoever he is, to come off to us in a canoe over +that rough water to-night!" Alex cried. "I want to see that boat of +his." + +The boat in which the stranger had put off was rocking viciously in +the stream, and it was some seconds before he could secure a footing +which promised a successful leap for the deck. When at last he came +over the rail, the boys saw a heavily-built man with thin whiskers +growing out of a dark face. His eyes were keen and black, and the hair +hanging low down on his wide shoulders, was black, too, and straight. + +Holding his boat line in one hand, in order that the craft might not +drift away, he searched with the other hand in the interior pockets of +a rough Jersey jacket for a second, and then brought forth a sealed +package which he handed to Clay. As the boy took the package, the man +who had delivered it sprang, without speaking a word, to the railing, +hung for a moment with his feet in the air above the bobbing canoe, +dropped, and was almost instantly lost in the darkness. + +Leaning over the railing of the boat, wide-eyed and amazed, the four +boys stood for a moment trying to pierce the line of darkness beyond +the round circle of the prow light. Nothing was to be seen. The boat +had come and gone in the darkness. The packet in Clay's hands was the +only evidence that it had ever existed. Alex was the first to speak. + +"What do you know about that?" he shouted. + +"They must have fine mail facilities on the St. Lawrence!" commented +Case. + +"That was only a ghost!" Jule asserted, with a wink at Alex. "That +letter will go sailing up in the air in a minute." + +Clay opened the packet so strangely delivered and unfolded a crude map +of a country enclosed between two rivers. These rivers, after running +close together for a long distance, spread apart, like the two arms of +a pair of tongs, at their mouths, making an egg-shaped peninsula which +extended far into the main river. Back from the river shore, on this +rude drawing, a narrow creek cut through the territory between the two +rivers, making the peninsula an island. + +Below this rude drawing of the rivers and the peninsula was another of +an old-fashioned safe resting high up in a niche in a rocky wall. The +face of the wall was cross-hatched, to show that it was in the +shadows. + +Below the drawing of the safe, were these words: + +"At last! Follow instructions. Success is certain. Map enclosed. Point +straight to the north." + +The boys gathered closely around Clay, standing under the brilliant +prow light, and examined the paper, passing it from one to another +with questioning glances. + +"I guess," Alex said, "that we are drawing somebody else's cards." + +"Well," Case suggested, "that's a queer kind of a hand to come out of +the night." + +"Perhaps," Jule observed, "they present travelers on the St. Lawrence +with these little souvenirs just to excite interest." + +"Point straight to the north," repeated Clay. "I wonder what that +means." + +"I'd like to know what any of it means," Alex asserted. "It looks to +me like some one was butting in." + +"Well," Case remarked, "we have started out on every trip with a +mystery to unravel, and here we go again, loaded up with another." + +"You bet we have!" laughed Alex. "We harvested gold on the Amazon, +caught murderers on the Columbia, found a secret treasure in the Grand +Canyon, and chased pirates on the Mississippi, but this is the only +real Captain Kidd mystery we have struck yet." + +"What shall we do with it?" asked Clay, rattling the paper. + +"Throw it in the river and be on our way," proposed Case. + +"Suppose," Alex grinned, "there should be a barrel of money in that +safe they've made a drawing of. If there is, we want to get it." + +"I think we'd better be going on, just the same," Case said. "I'm for +dumping this map thing into the river and forgetting all about it." + +"Aw," Alex cut in, "that would be throwing away all the fun. I want to +go to this 'North,' wherever it is. There may be something funny doing +there." + +Captain Joe, who had been sitting at the prow, watching the boys with +an intelligent interest, now passed back to the cabin, leaped upon the +low roof, and bounded to the after deck. The boys heard him growling +threateningly for a moment, and then he came back. + +Teddy, the cub, arose from the place where he had been lying, sniffed +at the gunwale of the boat for an instant, and walked into the cabin. + +"What's the matter with our menagerie to-night," demanded Alex. "There +seems to be something in the air." + +"What do you see, Captain Joe?" asked Clay. "If it's a man, and he's +got a letter, you go get it. Some other fellow may be wanting us to go +South, or East, or West." + +As Clay ceased speaking, the splash of a paddle came faintly from the +darkness to the West. + +"Here comes R. F. D. postman number two," shouted Alex. + +As the boys listened, the splashings of the paddle came louder for a +moment, then ceased entirely. + +"Hello, the boat!" Alex cried. "Have you got a letter for us?" + +No answer came back. There was now a break in the clouds, and the moon +shone sharply down upon the swirling river, but only for an instant. + +"There he comes!" cried Jule. + +But the moonlight was gone, and the sound of the paddle was gone, and +just at the edge of the circle of light which came from the prow, an +Indian canoe glided, phantom-like, down the stream and disappeared. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A TREACHEROUS GUEST + + +"Do you suppose that is the fellow Captain Joe caught prowling around +the stem of the boat?" asked Jule as the canoe disappeared down the +river. + +Captain Joe answered the question by trotting up to the prow and +snarling at the disappearing canoe. + +"Now, what do you think he wanted here, anyway?" asked Alex. + +"Possibly he just dropped down to see if we were ready to start +north," Case observed with a yawn. + +"It looks to me," Alex said, "that we have struck a storm center of +some kind, and I'm going to bed and think it over. + +"I'm glad you're going to bed," Clay laughed, "for you get lost +whenever we leave you on watch." + +"But I always find myself!" answered Alex, with a provoking grin. + +It was finally arranged that Case should stand guard that night, and +the others prepared for sleep. The bunks were let down in the cabin, +the prow light was switched off, and directly all was dark, save when +the moon broke out from a bank of wandering clouds. + +Sitting well wrapped at the door of the cabin, shortly before +midnight, Clay once more heard the sweep of a paddle or an oar. He +arose and went to the prow. + +Off to the right, on a point of land below St. Luce, a column of flame +was beckoning in the gale from the gulf. Only the flame was to be +seen. There was neither habitation nor human figure in sight under its +light. While the boy watched, a signal shot came from the east. + +Then an answering light came from the north, and a ship's boat, +four-oared and sturdy, passed for an instant under the light of the +moon and was lost in the darkness. + +The rowboat had passed so close to the _Rambler_ that the watching boy +could have seen the faces of the occupants if they had not been turned +away. For a moment he had feared that it was the intention of the +rowers to board the _Rambler_, but they had passed on apparently +without noticing the boat at all. + +After following the boat with his eyes for an instant, he switched on +the prow light and turned to the cabin to awaken his chums. Here was a +new feature of the night which must be considered. + +As he turned toward the cabin, a white package lying upon the deck +caught his eye. It had not been there a moment before, so the boy +naturally concluded that it had been thrown from the row boat. He +lifted it and, going back under the prow light, opened the envelope +and read. + +"Don't interfere with what doesn't concern you. Go on about your +business, if you have any. Life is sweet to the young. Do you +understand? Be warned. Others have tried and lost." + +The puzzled boy dashed into the cabin with the paper in his hand. + +"Look here, fellows!" he shouted, pulling away at the first sleeping +figure he came upon, "R. F. D. postman number two has arrived. Here's +the letter he brought." + +He read the message aloud to the three wondering boys, sitting +wide-eyed on their bunks, and handed the paper to Clay. + +"What about it?" he asked. + +"I reckon," Alex observed with a grin, "that we're going to be +arrested for opening some one else's mail." + +"Don't you ever think this letter wasn't intended for us," Jule +declared. + +"And now," Case said, "I suppose we'll have to give up following the +orders given in the first letter. We're ordered off the premises. +See?" + +"Not for mine," Alex cried. "You can't win me on any sawed-off +mystery! I want to know what this means." + +After a time the boys switched off the prow light, turned on the small +lamp in the cabin, and sat down to consider seriously the events of +the night. While they talked, the clouds drifted away, and the whole +surface of the river was flooded with moonlight. The flame on the +south bank was seen no more. It had evidently been built as a beacon +for the men in the ship's boat. + +After a time, Captain Joe, who had been sitting in the middle of the +deliberative circle in the cabin, raced out to the deck. The boys +heard him growling, heard a conciliatory human voice, and then a quick +fall. + +When the boys switched on the prow light and gained the deck, they +found Captain Joe standing guard over a slender youth who had +evidently fallen to the deck to escape being tumbled down by the dog. +They gathered about waiting for him to speak--waiting for some +explanation of his sudden appearance on the motor boat. Captain Joe +seemed proud of his capture, and remained with threatening teeth +within an inch of the boy's throat. + +"Say, you!" shouted Alex. "Did you come by parcel post? We've been +getting letters all right, but no such packages as this." + +"Looks to me like he must have come in a parachute," Jule suggested. +"Where's your boat, kid?" he added. + +The visitor smiled brightly and sprang alertly to his feet. He looked +from face to face for a moment, smiling at each in turn, and then +pointed to a light canoe bumping against the hull of the _Rambler_. + +He was a lad of, perhaps, eighteen, slender, lithe, dark. His clothing +was rough and not too clean. His manner was intended to be +ingratiating, but was only insincere. + +"What about you?" demanded Alex. "Do you think this is a passenger +boat?" + +"A long time ago," replied the visitor, speaking excellent English, "I +read of the _Rambler_ and her boy crew in the Quebec newspapers. When +I saw the boat here to-night, I ran away from my employer and came out +to you. I want to go with you wherever you are going." + +"You've got your nerve!" Alex cried. + +"Oh, let him alone," Case interposed. "We've had a stranger with us on +every trip, so why not take him along?" + +Alex took the speaker by the arm and walked with him back to the +cabin. + +"Say," he said then, "this fellow may be all right, but I don't like +the looks of his map." + +"You'll wash dishes a week for that," Case announced. "You're getting +so you talk too much slang. Anyway, you shouldn't say 'map'--that's +common. Say you don't like his dial." + +"Oh, I guess I'll have plenty of help washing dishes," Alex grunted. +"But what are we going to do with this boy?" he added. + +Clay now joined the two boys in the cabin and asked the same question. + +"It is my idea," he said, "that the appearance of this lad is in some +way connected with the other events of the night." + +"What did you find out about him?" asked Clay. + +"He says his name is Max Michel, and that he lives at St. Luce," was +the reply. + +"Well," Clay decided, "we can't send him away to-night, so we'll give +him a bunk and settle the matter to-morrow." + +"I just believe," Alex interposed, "that this boy Max could tell us +something about those two boats if he wanted to." + +"I notice," Case put in, "that he's paying a good deal of attention to +what is going on in the cabin just now. He may be all right, but he +doesn't look good to me." + +Clay beckoned to Jule, and the two boys entered the cabin together, +closely followed by Captain Joe, who seemed determined to keep close +watch on the strange visitor. + +"How long ago did you leave St. Luce?" asked Clay of the boy. + +"An hour ago," was the answer. "I rowed up the river near the shore +where the current is not so strong and then drifted down to the motor +boat. I called out to you before I landed, but I guess you did not +hear." + +Alex, standing at the boy's back and looking over his head, wrinkled a +freckled nose at Clay and said by his expression that he did not +believe what the boy was saying. + +"Did you see a light on the point below St. Luce not long ago?" +continued Clay. + +The boy shook his head. + +"There are often lights there at night," he said. "Wreckers and +fishermen build them for signals. But I saw none there to-night." + +"What about the four-oared boat that left St. Luce not long ago?" Clay +asked. "Do you know the men who were in it?" + +"I didn't see any such boat," was the reply. + +"Well, crawl into a bunk here," Clay finally said, "and we'll tell you +in the morning what we are going to do." + +The boy did as instructed, and was, apparently, soon sound asleep. +Then the boys went out to the deck again and sat in the brilliant +moonlight watching the settlement on the right bank. + +There is a railway station at St. Luce, and while they watched and +talked, the shrill challenge of a locomotive came to their ears, +followed by the low rumbling of a heavy train. + +The prow light was out, and the cabin light was out, and the cabin was +dark now, because when the boys had sought their bunks, a heavy +curtain had been drawn across the glass panel of the door. From where +the boys sat, therefore, they could see nothing of the interior of the +cabin. + +Five minutes after the door closed on the stranger, he left his bunk +and moved toward the rear of the cabin. Against the back wall, stood a +square wooden table, and upon this table stood an electric coil used +for cooking. Above the table, was a small window opening on the after +deck. + +The catch which held the sash in place was on the inside and was +easily released. The boy opened it, drew the swinging sash in, passed +through the opening, and sprang down to the deck. + +Reaching the deck, the visitor, as though familiar with the situation, +ran his hand carefully about his feet feeling for a closed hatch. He +found it at last and, lifting it, peered into the space set aside for +the electric batteries and the extra gasoline tanks. + +Reaching far under the planking, he found what he sought--the wire +connecting the electric batteries with the motors. Listening for a +moment to make sure that his motions were not being observed, he drew +a pair of wire clippers from a pocket and cut the supply wire. Only +for the fact that the lights on the boat were all out, this villainous +act would at once have been discovered. As it was, the boys remained +at the prow believing the visitor was still asleep in his bunk. + +This act of vandalism accomplished, the boy dropped softly over the +stern into his canoe, still trailing in the rear of the motor boat. +Once in the canoe, he laid the paddle within easy reach and propelled +the boat along the hull of the _Rambler_, toward the prow with his +hands. Once or twice discovery seemed to the boy to be certain, for +Captain Joe came to the gunwale of the boat and sniffed suspiciously +over the rail. + +Once, Clay left his place at the prow and looked over into the stream, +but the moon was in the south and a heavy shadow lay over the water on +the north side, so the dark object slipping like a snake to do an act +of mischief reached the prow unseen. + +At that moment the boys left the prow and moved toward the cabin door. +In another instant they would have entered and noted the absence of +their guest, but Alex paused and pointed to lights moving in the +village of St. Luce. + +"There's something going on over there," he said "and I believe it has +something to do with what we've been bumping against. There's the +letter from the canoe, and the warning from the boat, and the boy +dropping out of the darkness on deck, and the signal lights, and now +the stir in the village. Some one who wishes us ill is running the +scenes to-night, all right." + +While the boys stood watching the lights of St. Luce, Max caught the +manila cable which held the motor boat and drew his canoe up to it. +Cutting the cable, strand by strand, so as to cause no jar or sudden +lurching of the boat, he left it slashed nearly through and, leaving +the strain of the current to do the rest, worked back through the +shadow and struck out up stream. + +Standing in the door of the cabin, the boys felt the boat sway +violently under their feet, then they knew from the shifting lights in +the village that they were drifting swiftly down with the current. +Clay sprang to the motors, but they refused to turn. + +Case hastened to the prow and lifted the end of the cable. There was +no doubt that it had been cut. Clay made a quick examination of the +motors and saw that the electrical connection had been broken. Then +Jule called out in alarm that they were drifting directly upon a rocky +island. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARRESTED FOR PIRACY + + +The _Rambler_, drifting broadside to the current, threatened to strike +full upon a rocky promontory projecting from the island which lay in +the course of the boat. In vain Case tugged at the tiller ropes. There +was no steerage way, and the boat was beyond control. + +"It looks like the last of the _Rambler_!" Case cried as the boat +drifted down. "The rock ahead will cut her in two if we strike it." + +But there was a current crossing the rocky point from north to south, +and the boat, catching it, was drawn away, so that in time, she came, +stern first, to the curve of a little channel into which the waters +drew. For a moment, the prow swung out, and the possibility of a +continuation of the vagrant journey was imminent. + +However, before the sweep of water turned the prow fairly around, Alex +was over the gunwale, clinging with all his might to the broken cable. +Clay and Jule were at his side in a moment and, half swimming, half +stumbling, quite up to their chins in the cold water, they held the +boat until the current swept it farther over on the sandy beach that +bordered the cove. + +"There you are!" shouted Alex, wading, dripping, from the river. "The +next time I take a trip on the _Rambler_, I'm going to wear a diving +suit. I'm dead tired of getting wet." + +"You're lucky not to be at the bottom of the river!" Clay announced. + +The rowboat, which lay upon the roof of the cabin, was now brought +down, a cable was taken out of the store room, and the _Rambler_ +firmly secured to a great rock which towered above the slope of the +cove. + +The boys stood for a moment looking over the surface of the river, +still bathed in moonlight, then Alex rushed into the cabin and brought +out a field glass. + +"What I want to know just now, is who cut that cable," he said. + +"That's easy," Jule replied. "It was the innocent little boy who had +read all about the _Rambler_ in the Quebec newspaper." + +Alex swept the river with the glass for a time and then passed it to +Clay. + +"There he goes," he said, "away up the river, heading for St. Luce! +That's the boy who disconnected the electricity and cut the cable. +That's the boy who we will even up with when we catch him, too." + +"And you're the boy who'll wash dishes for a week for talking slang!" +Jule taunted. + +"I'd wash dishes for a month if I could get hold of that rat," +answered Alex, angrily. "He came near wrecking the _Rambler_!" + +"Well," Clay said, "we may as well be getting the motors into shape. +We can't stay on this island long." + +"If we do, there's no knowing what will happen," Jule suggested. +"We've had two letters and a runaway to-night and the next thing is +likely to be a stick of dynamite." + +"Say, suppose we repair the electric apparatus and get away from this +vicinity right now," suggested Case, "I don't like the looks of +things." + +"Now, look here," Alex cut in, "I'm ready to get out of this section, +but do you mind what the first letter said about going north? Now that +means something. If the first letter hadn't told us to go north, and +the men who threw the second letter hadn't believed that we were +obeying instructions, we wouldn't have been interfered with. Now, +there's a friendly force here, and a hostile force. The friendly +people may be mistaken in our identity, but that doesn't alter the +fact that the hostile element is out to do us a mischief. + +"I'd like to find out what it is the friendly force expects us to do. +If we can learn that, we'll know why the hostile force is opposing us. +And so, it looks to me that instead of running away, we would better +find out what is wanted of us. How does that strike you, fellows? +Isn't that deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes?" + +"All right," Clay declared, "I'm willing to investigate, but we +mustn't spend all our time looking into one mystery, for if we have +the same luck we had on other trips, we are likely to come across +several more before we go back to Chicago." + +"I'd like to know," Case said, as they brought up an extra anchor and +a new cable, "why we were dumped on this island." + +"To get us out of the way, probably," Jule commented. "They +undoubtedly expected to steal or wreck the _Rambler_." + +"But the _Rambler_," Alex laughed, "has the luck of the Irish, so +she's still able to travel." + +The island upon which the boat had been cast, lay only a short +distance from the south shore of the river. In fact, at low water, +when the tide was out, it might have been possible to pass to the +mainland on dry ground. + +Its location was not more than two miles below the little landing at +St. Luce. In fact, as the boys afterwards decided, it must have been +from this island that the signal flame had burned early in the +evening. + +Working busily on the repairs, the boys did not notice the arrival +upon the island of two roughly dressed fellows, who landed from a +small boat and who took great pains to keep rocky elevations between +themselves and the cove where the boat lay. + +"I wonder," Jule asked, sitting down on the prow after a struggle with +the new cable, "whether the stories I have read about wreckers along +the St. Lawrence are true." + +While the boys discussed the possibility of wreckers working along the +stream, one of the two men clambered to an elevation which was in turn +hidden from the cove by a higher one and waved a red and blue +handkerchief toward the shore. + +The tide was now running out, and the channel between the island and +the mainland swirled like a mill-race. This, however, did not prevent +the launching of a boat from the shore, the same being manned by four +men. They edged along the shore and then, passing boldly into the +current, landed on the island at a point east of the cove. There they +secreted their boat and moved on toward the place where the boys, all +unconscious of their presence, were repairing the damages wrought by +their treacherous guest. + +It was Captain Joe who gave the first intimation of the presence of +others on the island. He sprang from the boat, paddled through the +shallow water between the hull and the shore, and set out for the +elevation where the man who had signaled had been standing. + +The boys heard a cry of pain, a shout of anger and a pistol shot, and +then Captain Joe came running back to where the _Rambler_ lay. + +"What was it you said about wreckers?" Case asked with a startled +look. "No beast or bird fired that shot!" + +"I was only wondering," Jule answered, "whether there are really +wreckers at work along the river. That's the answer!" + +"Well," Clay said, "we'll get on the boat to talk it over! In the +meantime, we'll be putting space between the _Rambler_ and this +island. If ever a wrecker's beacon told where to lure a boat to be +plundered, that flame we saw on the island told our sneaking guest +when to cut the _Rambler_ loose!" + +The boys hastened on board and Clay ran to the motors. At that +instant, four men made their appearance on the ledge above the cove, +beckoning with their hands and calling out to the boys that they had +something of importance to say to them. + +"They look to me like triple-plated thieves," Alex commented, "and I +wouldn't be caught on an island with them for a farm." + +Captain Joe seemed to approve of this decision, for he stood with his +feet braced, growling furiously at the beckoning men. + +"Boat ahoy!" one of the men cried. "We have a message for you." + +"All right," Case answered, "you may send it by wireless." + +"But it is important!" came from the man. + +During this brief conversation, the motors were slowly drawing the +_Rambler_ out of the sandy cove, the electric connection having been +made, and the men were rapidly approaching the shore. The boat moved +slowly, for the keel was dragging slightly in the sand, and the +wreckers, if such they were, stood at the water's edge before the +craft was more than a dozen yards away. + +Directly, all appearance of friendship ceased, and the men stood +threatening the boys with automatic guns. + +"Run back!" one of the men cried, "or we'll pick you off like +pigeons!" + +The boys had already taken their automatic revolvers from the cabin, +and now, instead of obeying the command of the outlaws, they dropped +down behind the gunwale and sent forth a volley not intended to +injure, but only to frighten. + +Apparently undismayed by the shots, the outlaws passed boldly down the +shore line seeking to keep pace with the motor boat as she drew out of +the cove. Every moment the motors were gaining speed. In another +minute, the _Rambler_ would be entirely beyond the reach of the +outlaws. + +Apparently hopeless of coercing the boys into a return, the outlaws +now began shooting. Bullets pinged against the gunwale and imbedded +themselves in the walls of the cabin but did no damage. + +A tinge of color was now showing in the east. Birds were astir in the +moving currents of the air, and lights flashed dimly forth from the +distant houses of St. Luce. Against the ruddy glow of the sky, a river +steamer lifted its column of smoke. Observing the approach of the +vessel, the outlaws redoubled their efforts to frighten the boys into +instant submission. + +However, the _Rambler_ was gaining speed, and the incident would have +been closed in a moment if the connection made between the batteries +and the motors had not become disarranged. In the haste of making the +repairs, the work had not been properly done. + +The propeller ceased its revolutions and the boat dropped back toward +the cove. Evidently guessing what had taken place on board, the +outlaws gathered at the point where it seemed certain that she would +become beached. + +Understanding what would take place if the motor boat dropped back, +the boys fired volley after volley in order to attract the attention +of those on the steamer. There came a jangling of bells from the +advancing craft, and she slowed down and headed for the point. The +outlaws fired a parting volley and disappeared among the rocks. + +The steamer continued on her course toward the little island, but +paused a few yards away and the boys saw a rowboat dropped to the +river. The _Rambler_ continued to drift toward the beach she had so +recently left and the rowboat headed for that point. + +Fearful that the boat would again come within reach of the outlaws, +Clay and Case now rushed to the prow, and threw the supply anchor over +just in time to prevent a collision between a nest of rocks and the +stern of the boat. + +The outlaws were now out of sight, and the boys felt secure in the +protection of the steamer, but directly the situation was changed, for +a show of arms was seen on board the rowboat, and the boys were +suddenly ordered to throw up their hands. + +"You fellows are nicely rigged out--fine motor boat, and all that," +one of the men in the boat shouted, "but the days of river pirates on +the St. Lawrence are over. You are all under arrest." + +"Gee whiz!" shouted Alex. "Is this what you call a pinch?" + +"It is what we call a clean-up," replied one of the men in the boat, +rowing up to the _Rambler_. "We've been watching for you fellows, and +now we've got you." + +"And what are you going to do with us?" asked Clay restraining his +anger and indignation with difficulty. + +"We're going to take you up to Quebec and put you on trial for +piracy!" + +"That'll be fine!" Jule commented. + +The boys tried to smile and make light of the situation as the four +men from the steamer boarded the _Rambler_, but they all understood +that it was a very serious proposition that they were facing. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CONCERNING A LOST CHANNEL + + +The men from the steamer took possession of the _Rambler_ impudently, +acting like ignorant men clothed with small authority. The boys were +ordered to the cabin and the door locked. + +"We left our manacles on board the Sybil," one of the men announced, +"or we'd rig you out with some of the King's jewelry." + +"We'll overlook the slight for the present," Case flared back, "but +you be sure and bring the jewels at the first opportunity." + +"You'll get them quick enough," snarled one of the men. "Three days +ago we received notice that you were coming, and we've been watching +for you ever since. You came along just in time to be nicely trapped." + +"Do you mean that you were watching for the _Rambler_?" asked Clay, +lifting his voice in order that he might be heard through the glass +panel of the door. "I'd like to have you tell me about that." + +"No one knew the shape you would come in," was the gruff reply. "We +only knew that a band of pirates and wreckers who had been luring +vessels on the rocks along the bay was preparing to visit the St. +Lawrence. Perhaps you will tell me where you stole this fine boat?" + +"They must have a big foolish house in this province," Alex taunted, +"if all the King's officers are as crazy in the cupola as you are." + +"Let them alone," urged Clay. "No use in talking to men of their +stripe. Wait until we get to the captain of the steamer." + +The sailors continued to question the boys, resorting now and then to +insulting epithets, but the lads sat dumbly in the cabin until the +arrival of Captain Morgan, in charge of the steamer Sybil. To express +it mildly, they were all very much elated at the appearance of Captain +Morgan, who unlocked the cabin door, called them out on deck and +greeted them pleasantly. They all wanted to shake hands with him. + +"It seems," Clay said to the captain, as the latter motioned to the +sailors to move up to the prow, "that your men have captured a band of +bold, bad men. It was a daring thing for them to do!" + +The captain laughed until his sides shook, and the men, gathered on +the forward part of the deck, scowled fiercely, to which the captain +paid no attention at all. + +"Perhaps there is an excuse for the men," Captain Morgan finally said, +suppressing his laughter. "We heard firing as we came up the river, +and wreckers are known to be about." + +"If you have any doubt as to the presence of wreckers," Clay +explained, "just send your ruffians over on the island. The men who +did most of the shooting are there. They may also be able to find the +ashes of the signal fire the outlaws lighted." + +"That will be good exercise for them," Jule cut in, "and perhaps they +won't be so brave when they find they haven't boys to deal with." + +"Do you mean to tell me that the wreckers are now on the island?" +asked the captain. "If they are, we may yet be able to make a +capture." + +"They were on the island just before you came up," Clay answered, "and +I presume they are there yet. We'll help you take them." + +The captain laughed and looked critically at the slender, well-dressed +youngsters, then his eyes turned to the white bulldog and the bear, +now sniffing suspiciously at his legs. + +"It seems to me," he said, "that I have heard of this outfit before! +When I came aboard I thought I recognized the name of the _Rambler_. +This menagerie of yours settles the point. You brought Captain Joe, +the dog, from Para, on the Amazon and Teddy, the cub, from British +Columbia." + +"You've got it," Alex cried, "but how did you come to know so much +about us? We rather expected to get away from our damaged reputations +up here," he added with a wink and a grin. + +"You have long been famous in these parts," the captain answered, +"Ever since the _Rambler_ came riding up to the Newfoundland coast on +a flat car. It is a wonder that my men did not recognize you." + +"I don't believe they can read," laughed Alex. "Suppose you send them +over on the island to see if they can recognize some of the outlaws." + +One of the sailors approached Captain Morgan, saluted, and pointed to +the narrow channel between the island and the mainland. The sun was +now shining brightly in the sky, and the whole landscape lay bright +under its strong and rosy light. Half way across the channel, its rays +glinted on splashing oars, and from the shore came hoarse commands. + +"There are men leaving the island, sir," the sailor said. "Perhaps we +did get hold of the wrong fellows." + +"I should think you did," laughed the captain, "but there may be time +to correct the error. Signal to the steamer for more men, and drift +down in your boats. You may be able to capture some of those outlaws, +and," he added with a smile as the sailor turned away, "don't forget +that there is a reward offered for every one of them." + +"Perhaps we'd better go with the men," suggested Case. "We aren't +anxious to get where there's shooting going on, but we need the +money." + +"I prefer," the captain replied, "that you come on board the Sybil +with me. I'll have the cook get up a fine breakfast, and you boys can +tell me all about your river trips. I have always been interested in +such journeys and have long planned to take one myself." + +The boys readily agreed to this arrangement, Alex declaring that it +would save the washing of at least one mess of dishes, and all were +soon seated in the captain's cosy room. + +"I'll wait here an hour," Captain Morgan said, "to give my men a +chance to gather in some of the rewards, but after that I must be on +my way. We shall be late now, on account of this delay." + +The boys briefly described their river trips on the Amazon, the +Columbia, the Colorado and the Mississippi, and were rewarded with a +breakfast which Alex admitted was almost as good as he could cook +himself. + +"And now," Clay said, as they all stood on the deck, watching the +sailors returning empty-handed from their quest of the outlaws, "I +wish you would tell me what all this rural free delivery business +we've encountered means. We've been puzzling over it all night." + +As he spoke he handed the first letter--the one delivered by the +mysterious canoeist--to the captain, who smiled as he looked at it. + +"I'll tell you about that," he said. "There is a man over in Quebec +who claims that he owns about half of the province under a grant of +land made to Jacques Cartier in 1541 by Francis I. of France. This +grant, or charter, he claims, was confirmed to his family, the +Fontenelles, in 1603 by Samuel de Champlain, who was sent to Canada by +de Chaste, upon whom King Louis XIII. had generously bestowed about +half of the new world. + +"Fontenelle claims that all the kings and presidents of France from +1541 down to the present time have confirmed this grant so far as +certain mineral and timber properties are concerned. For years +Fontenelle has been trying to gain possession of the original charter +brought to this country by Cartier, but has never succeeded." + +"Would he secure a large amount of property if he found it?" asked +Alex. "How did it ever become lost?" + +"It disappeared from Cartier's hands," was the reply. "It is believed +that the recovery of the original charter would make the Fontenelles +very wealthy, especially as the family jewels, worth millions of +francs, are said to have been lost with the important document." + +"I think they had their nerve to send family jewels to America in +1541," Case cut in. "Might have known they would be lost." + +"You must remember," Captain Morgan replied, "that for years during +and following the reign of Francis I. the protestant persecutions kept +France in a turmoil. It was hinted that the Fontenelles did not favor +these persecutions and that the jewels were shipped to the new world +for greater safety. What I am telling you now, remember, is only +tradition, and not history. To be frank with you, I will say that I +don't believe it myself. It is too misty." + +"It is interesting, anyway," Clay declared, "and I'd like to hear more +about it, but tell me this--why should the Fontenelles, or their +agents, send this letter to us? And why should they send it, if at +all, in so mysterious a manner?" + +"I have heard," Captain Morgan replied, "that an expedition for the +recovery of this original charter was being fitted out at Quebec. Your +boat may have been mistaken for the one carrying the searchers." + +"Searching in this wild country?" questioned Alex. "Where do they +think this blooming charter is, I'd like to know?" + +Captain Morgan took the crude map into his hands and pointed to an +egg-shaped peninsula reaching out into the St. Lawrence between the +mouths of two rivers. + +"There is said to be a lost channel somewhere in that vicinity," he +said, "and tradition has it that the papers and the jewels were hidden +on its shore. The searchers, for years, have been in the hope of +finding this lost channel. They have never succeeded." + +"Then we're almost on the ground," cried Jule. "Where do we go to +reach this peninsula? We might be lucky enough to find this channel." + +"It doesn't exist," smiled Captain Morgan. "Every inch of that country +has been gone over with a microscope, almost, and there is no lost +channel there. At least, it can't be found." + +"There is one on the map, anyway," Alex observed. + +"Well," Clay laughed, "we have been mixed up with some one else's +affairs on every one of our river trips, and we may as well keep up +the record, so I propose that we spend a few days looking for this +lost charter and these family jewels." + +The boys all agreed to the proposition, and even Captain Morgan seemed +to gain enthusiasm as they talked over their plans. + +"I wouldn't mind being with you," the captain said, "but of course, I +can't go. However, if you keep on across the river, straight to the +north, you'll come to the egg-shaped peninsula. Keep to the right of +it, and you'll enter a broad river. This map shows you where the lost +channel is claimed to have existed. Go to it, kids, and good luck go +with you!" + +"Now then that point is settled," Clay smiled, taking the second +letter from his pocket, "tell us what this means." + +Captain Morgan looked over the paper carefully before making any +reply. His face clouded and an expression of anger came to his eyes. + +"The fact of the matter is," he said, "that for two hundred years the +Fontenelles have met with opposition in their search for the lost +channel. Some of the land claimed under the charter is now held by +innocent purchasers who believe their title to be perfect. + +"There is no doubt that such might come to a fair understanding with +the Fontenelles if the charter should ever be found, but it is alleged +that an association has been formed by the wealthier persons who are +interested to defeat any attempt made to discover the charter. They +claim, of course, that with the charter in their possession the +Fontenelles would be able to make their own exorbitant terms." + +"I knew it!" Alex cried. "We are in between two hostile interests +again! It always happens that way. But we like it!" + +"I have been thinking," Captain Morgan went on, "that the men who +attempted to wreck the _Rambler_ are not river pirates at all, but men +sent here to obstruct, as far as possible, those in search of the lost +channel. It certainly looks that way." + +"Well," Clay remarked, "they haven't got any motor boat, and we've got +one that can almost beat the sun around the earth, so we'll just run +away from them. In an hour after you leave here, we'll be in the east +river looking for the channel which is said to have connected it in +past years with the one paralleling it on the west." + +The sailors who had been searching now reported to the captain that no +strangers had been seen by them on the island, and it was agreed that +the outlaws, whether wreckers or men employed to obstruct the search +for the lost channel, had taken to the south shore. Captain Morgan +shook the boys warmly by the hand as they parted. + +"If you say any more about your plans," he said, "I'll be going with +you. Already I can sense the smoke of your campfire, and smell the +odor of the summer woods. There are fine fish up in those rivers, +boys, great shiny, gamy things that fight like the dickens in the +stream and melt like butter in the mouth." + +"We'll send you out some," promised Clay, and the steamer's boat +carried the boys back to the _Rambler_. + +The needed repairs were soon accomplished, and when night fell the +motor boat lay under a roof of leaves in a deep cove on one of the +rivers behind the egg-shaped peninsula. Just above the anchorage the +water tumbled, from a high ledge. The boys had no idea of remaining on +board that night, so they built a roaring campfire on shore and +stretched hammocks from the trees. + +"Right here," Clay said as the moon rose, "right about where we are +sitting, there may be a lost channel!" + +"That's all right," grinned Alex, "but I don't see myself getting very +wet sitting on it." + +"I don't blame any old channel for getting lost in this wild country," +Case contributed. "We'll be lucky if we don't get lost ourselves. Hear +the owls laughing at us!" + +"I've been listening to the owls," Clay said, "and I have concluded +that they are fake owls. If you'll listen, you will hear signals." + +The boys listened for a long time, and then above the rush of the +river and the murmur of the leaves in the wind, came a long, low call +which seemed to them to be a very bad imitation of owl talk. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TEDDY GIVES AN EXHIBITION + + +"There is one sure thing," Clay said, as the boys listened, "and that +is that we have got to watch the _Rambler_ to-night. I propose that we +take down the hammocks and go back to our bunks." + +"It's a shame to sleep in that little cabin," Alex protested, "when +we've got the whole wide world to snore in. Suppose you boys remain +here on shore, and let me stand guard on the boat." + +"That will be nice!" Jule laughed. "Alex always gets his soundest +sleep when he's on guard." + +"Don't you worry about me," Alex said, "I'll keep awake, all right. +Besides, I want to hear the owls talk." + +"I think we would better all go back to the _Rambler_," Clay advised. +"We can anchor her farther out in the stream, leave one on guard, and +so pass a quiet night. It looks risky to leave the boat where she is." + +"Perhaps that's what we ought to do," Alex agreed, giving Jule a nudge +in the ribs with his elbow. "Who's going to stand watch?" + +"I will," Case offered. "I'll sit up until daylight, and then you boys +can get up and catch fish for breakfast." + +"I want a fish for breakfast two feet long," Alex declared. "I'll +catch it and cook it in Indian style. That will be fine!" + +"How do you cook fish a la Indian?" asked Case. + +"Aw, you know," Alex replied. "First, you get your fish; then you dig +a deep hole in the ground and fill it full of stones. Then you build a +roaring fire on the stones. Then you wrap your fish up in leaves and +put it on the hot stones and cover it up. Then, if you want it to cook +quick, you must build a fire on top. They sell fish cooked in that way +at two dollars an order in Chicago." + +"Cook it any way you want to," Clay said, "only don't muff it the way +Case does when he tries to make biscuits. We'll be hungry." + +Taking down the hammocks, the boys moved back to the _Rambler_. Clay, +Alex, and Jule, after listening in vain for a time for more signals +from the woods, finally went to their bunks, leaving Case sitting on +the deck, across which a great tree on the east bank threw a long blur +of shade. + +Clay and Jule were soon sound asleep, but Alex lay awake listening. +There was a notion at the back of his brain that the signals heard had +been treated too lightly. He knew that Clay, always active and ready +for any emergency, considered the party secure in midstream, but he +was by no means satisfied that the best steps for the protection of +the boat had been taken. + +After a time he arose, dressed himself, and softly slipped out on +deck, leaving the rest sleeping in the cabin. + +"It isn't morning yet," Case said, speaking out of the shadow. "Why +don't you go back to bed? You'll be sleepy to-morrow." + +"Have you heard any more owl talk?" asked Alex. + +"Not a line," replied Case. "Go on back to bed." + +Alex did go back to bed, but could not sleep. Presently the +long-expected owl-call came from the north, and then Teddy rubbed his +soft nose against the boy's hand. + +"What do you want, old man?" whispered Alex. "Does that hooting warn +you of danger, too?" + +The cub put his paws upon the edge of the bunk and tried to answer in +bear talk that it did. + +"All right," Alex said, "I'll just go out and see about it." + +When he reached the deck for the second time, Case stood at the +gunwale listening. The call came again from the woods. + +"Now you hear it, don't you?" asked Alex, scornfully. "I reckon you +fellows would sit around here and let those wops carry off the boat." + +"Well, haven't they got to show up before we can do anything to them?" +asked Case reproachfully. "I guess they have." + +"I'd like to know what they are doing," Alex wondered, "and I just +believe I could sneak out and learn something about it. It makes me +nervous, waiting here for them to get in the first blow." + +"If I had a house and lot for every time you've been lost on our river +trips," Case grinned, "I'd own the biggest city in the world. You go +back to bed, or I'll get Clay out here to tie you up." + +Teddy now came sniffing where the two boys stood, and, lifting his +paws to the gunwale, looked over in the forest. + +"See that!" Alex exclaimed. "Even the bear knows there is something +wrong on! If you'll keep that twirler of yours still for a little +while, I'll go and see what it is." + +"You're the wise little sleuth!" Case declared. "Go on back to bed and +dream that you're Nick of the Woods." + +"Tell you what," Alex said, "we'll tie a line to the rowboat, and I'll +row ashore, then you pull the boat back, and I'll creep out in the +thicket and see what I can discover. I believe those outlaws will +gather around the campfire. Anyway, they're foolish if they don't." + +"If you take my advice," Case said, "you won't go, but if you insist +on it, I'll draw the boat back, for our own protection." + +Very reluctantly, then, Case assisted in getting the boat into the +river, found a long line to attach to the prow, and helped the boy +away on his journey. He felt guilty for aiding in the adventure. + +Alex landed in a thicket almost straight west of the _Rambler_, and at +once secreted himself. No signals had been heard for some moments, and +the boy believed that he had reached the shore without attracting +attention. Case drew the boat back and sat waiting. + +Alex remained perfectly still in his hiding-place for some moments. +There was only the noises of river and forest. To the west, the embers +of the campfire made a faint red glow in the moonlight. + +Just as the boy was about to move out of the thicket, he heard a heavy +splash in the river, followed by words of command and entreaty from +Case. The splashing continued, and presently the bushes at the edge of +the stream were moved by an entering body. + +"That's Captain Joe!" thought Alex. "He's always ready for a run in +the woods. I suppose I ought to send him back." + +But it was not Captain Joe that thrust a wet nose into Alex's hand. It +was Teddy, the bear cub, and his greeting was so friendly and sincere +that all thoughts of sending him back to the boat vanished from the +boy's mind. Teddy shook the water from his coat like a great dog, and +cuddled up to the boy as if thanking him. + +"You're a runaway bear," Alex whispered to the cub, "and I ought to +send you back, but I'll just see if you know how to behave in the kind +of society I am going to mix with. Will you be good?" + +Teddy declared in his best bear talk that he would be good, and the +boy and the cub lay in the thicket, still listening, for a long time +before moving. Then Alex crept toward the campfire. + +When he came to a considerable rise in the center of the ground +between the two streams, he found that the ground was broken and +rocky. It seemed to him that a great crag had formerly risen where he +stood, and that some distant convulsion of nature had shattered it. + +To the south, between the rivers and at no great distance from the +egg-shaped peninsula, ran a long, rocky ridge. Making his way to this, +he secreted himself in the shadow of a boulder and settled down to +watch and listen. + +After a time Teddy grew impatient at the inactivity thus forced upon +him, and began moving restlessly about. + +"Bear!" warned Alex, "if you make any more racket here, I'll send you +back to the boat. We're supposed to be sleuthing!" + +Teddy evidently did not like the idea of being sent back to the boat, +or of keeping still either, so he almost immediately disappeared, +notwithstanding Alex's efforts to detain him by main force. The boy +called to him in vain. + +"Now," thought Alex, "the cub has gone and done it! He'll thrash +around in the woods and scare my outlaws away. I wish I had tied him +up on the boat. I might have known he would make trouble." + +The boy waited a long time, but the cub did not return. Now and then +he could hear him moving about in the thicket. + +"He's just laughing in his sleeve at me!" complained the boy. "I wish +I had hold of him!" + +Directly a sound other than that made by the bear came to the ears of +the listening boy. Some one was creeping towards his shelter. He could +see no one, for the shadows were thick at the point from which the +sounds proceeded, but presently, he heard a voice. + +"They went back to the boat," some one said gruffly. + +"That's all the better for us," another spoke. + +"I don't know about that," the first speaker said. + +"Why, we'll just cut her out and take boys and boat and all." + +"That's easier said than done," was the reply. "Those boys are no +spring chickens. They have guns and they know how to use them." + +"Well," the other chided, "it isn't my fault that they went back to +the boat. If you hadn't been giving your confounded signals, they +would have slept by the fire and everything would have been easy." + +Alex listened with his heart beating anxiously. There was no longer +any doubt that the right construction had been placed on the signals +which had been heard. The outlaws who had attacked them in the cove +were now on the peninsula, ready to make trouble. + +While the boy listened for further conversation, a rustling in the +thicket at the base of the cliff told him that Teddy, the cub, was +still in that vicinity. He chuckled at the thought which came to him. + +"I wish I had the little rascal here," he mused. "I think he might be +able to do something in the line of giving those fellows exercise! I +wish I could get over to him." + +The boy started in the direction of the sound, but paused when he +heard one of the men saying: + +"Where are the others?" + +"Down on the river shore," was the reply. + +"Then what is all that noise?" demanded the other. + +"I don't hear any noise," was the surly reply. + +"There is some one moving in the bushes." + +"Then it must be one of the boys," Alex heard, "and I think we had +better investigate. It would be luck to catch one of them." + +"It wouldn't be any luck for me to be caught," thought Alex, "and so +I'll just make a sneak back to the boat. I've learned all I wanted to +know, anyway." + +He started away, but almost at his first motion a stone became +detached from the ledge at his side and went thundering down toward +the spot from which the voices had proceeded. + +"There!" one of the men cried, "I told you there was some one here." + +Together the men immediately rushed to the spot where Alex lay hidden. +They rustled through the bushes without any attempt at concealment, +scrambling up the acclivity with the use of both hands and feet. + +As they advanced another rustling came from the left, and Alex saw +Teddy on the way back to his side. The moon, creeping farther to the +south, found an opening in the dense foliage above the ledge, and +threw a long shaft of light upon the exact spot where Alex lay, +revolver in hand, waiting for the expected attack. + +He moved out of this natural limelight hastily, but as he did so +another figure entered it. Advancing swiftly, the men who had +discovered the location of the boy, saw him disappear and saw the new +figure which came upon the scene. They stopped instantly. + +To their excited imaginations Teddy, standing somewhat above their +heads, seemed to be at least nine feet high! Evidently trying to +propitiate Alex for running away from him, the cub set about +practicing all the stunts the boys had been teaching him for months. + +Standing upon his hind legs, he extended his paws in a boxing attitude +and pranced about, as he had been taught to do, in all the attitudes +of the prize ring. The hair on his neck and back seemed to bristle +with anger. His little round eyes, bright in the moonlight, twinkled +viciously! + +The men who were watching this trained exhibition, held their breaths +in terror. They expected to be attacked by the animal immediately. +Directly, they began backing slowly away. Then Teddy broke into his +pet amusement, a whirling half-dance and they turned and ran, +stumbling down the declivity, brushing through the briars and clinging +vines of the thicket, and finally disappearing in the shadows farther +upstream! + +It did not take Alex long to find his way to the cub. + +"You certainly are enough to scare the life out of a stranger," he +said, addressing the bear. "If you don't mind, now, we'll go back to +the boat. We've got news for the boys, at any rate." + +But Teddy was not inclined to go back to the close cabin. He wanted a +longer run in the woods. Before Alex could seize the collar which had +been placed about his neck, he was away again. Alex pursued him for +some distance, and then turned back toward the boat. + +When he reached the shore and called softly to Case to row the boat +over to him, there was no answer from the craft, as the rush of the +river drowned his voice, but a most unexpected one came from the shore +back of him. He turned quickly to see the barrel of a gun shining in +the moonlight. He reached for his own weapon, but a hand caught his +wrist and held it, as if in a grasp of iron. + +"All right, kid," a harsh voice said, "if they don't want you on your +boat, we'll give you a home on ours. We've got the snuggest little +craft upstream you ever saw. You're welcome to it, only it may be +dangerous for you to try to get away or make any noise!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CAPTAIN JOE TAKES A PRISONER + + +Case waited patiently a long time for the return of his chum. When it +came near midnight he decided to awaken Clay and inform him of the +situation. The latter was out of his bed instantly. + +"He shouldn't have gone," the boy said, anxiously. "There is no doubt +that he is in trouble of some kind. I'm sorry for this!" + +"Well, he would go," Case urged, "and he promised to go only to the +shore and look around. Just after he left, Teddy splashed off the boat +and ran into the thicket. I presume the two are together." + +"Of course they're together," said Clay, "That is, if Teddy hasn't +been discovered and shot. That is likely to happen." + +"What shall we do?" asked Case anxiously. + +"It isn't much use to go into the thicket after him," Clay decided. +"There is plenty of moonlight here, it is true, but the foliage must +make it very dark in the forest. It would be like looking for a +special pebble on the beach to try to find him now. We'll have to +wait." + +"Perhaps Teddy will come and bring us news," suggested Case. "I have +known him to do such things. He's a wise little bear." + +There was no more sleep on board the _Rambler_ that night. With the +first flush of dawn Clay and Jule were abroad in the forest, leaving +Case on watch. Although they searched patiently for a long time, no +trace of the missing boy could be discovered. + +Here and there were tracks which must have been made by Teddy, but it +was not certain that the two had been together. After a time the boys +returned to the bank of the river just above the location of the +_Rambler_. There they found where a boat had been drawn up to the +bank. + +"I don't see how they ever got a boat by us," Clay argued, "but they +certainly did, for they couldn't have got here first. They must have +sneaked up the east shore in the shadows and landed above the +_Rambler_. Are you sure that no boat passed down after Alex left?" he +asked of Case. "One might have drifted down without making much +noise." + +"I was awake every minute of the time," Case insisted, "and no boat +passed down. When the moon swung around to the south, the whole river +was illuminated. I would have seen any craft that passed." + +"Then it is certain that the intruders are still up river, perhaps +above the falls, and I am afraid that Alex is where they are. That +little rascal is always getting lost! He should have remained on +board." + +"Yes, he gets lost," admitted Case, loyally, "but he always comes out +on top in the end. There wouldn't be any fun if Alex and Teddy were +not always getting into trouble. It sort of keeps things moving!" + +"Well," Clay concluded, "the place to look for the boy is, as I said +before, upstream. Now, the question is, shall we take the _Rambler_ +up?" + +"I am afraid the motors would declare our presence," Case observed, +speaking from the deck of the boat, "and, besides, we couldn't go very +far on account of the falls, so, perhaps, we would better go up as far +as we can in the rowboat, making as little noise as possible." + +"And what's the matter with putting Captain Joe on shore?" asked Jule. +"He may be able to point out the spot where the men left the river. +Anyhow, it won't do any harm to try." + +"That's a good idea," declared Clay, "and I'll go along with him." + +"I'm afraid you'll find it pretty rough walking along that bank," Case +suggested, "for the country is rocky and leads up to the plateau above +the falls, and small streams may run in from the peninsula. You might +have to swim when you wasn't climbing hills." + +"I'll try it a short distance, anyway," Clay answered, "and you, Case, +remain on board and let Jule row up in the boat." + +This arrangement was carried out, and in a short time, the little boat +was moving upstream, with Jule pulling cautiously at the oars. Clay +found the bank a difficult one to ascend. He was obliged to wade +through small creeks and climb rocky heights, but he kept steadily on +his way, with Captain Joe at his heels. + +At last, they came to a creek which ran into the river at the foot of +the falls. On the south side of this creek, for some distance in, was +a level, grassy plateau, and here Captain Joe picked up the scent they +were looking for. The south bank showed that a boat had recently been +drawn up there. + +Disregarding, for the time being, all commands from the boy, the dog +raced up the small stream, and finally disappeared in a thicket. + +Clay hesitated, undecided as to whether he ought to follow the dog at +once or return to notify Jule of his discovery and secure his +assistance. + +He had already lost sight of the dog, so he concluded that he might as +well return to Jule. This he did, and in a short time, the boat was +anchored at the mouth of the creek, and the boys were pressing on into +the thicket. Captain Joe was nowhere in sight. + +"They certainly are on this side of the creek," Clay reasoned, "for +they couldn't very well make progress on the other side unless they +traveled in an aeroplane." + +There were no tracks to follow, no indications of any one having +passed that way recently, but the boys kept pluckily on, listening now +and then for some sign from the dog. + +"If he finds Alex," Jule declared, "he'll make a note of it, and we'll +hear a racket fit to wake the dead." + +"And that will warn the outlaws of our approach," said Clay in a +discouraged tone of voice. "Perhaps we did wrong to bring the dog." + +"You may be sure Captain Joe will give a good account of himself," +Jule said confidently. "He may make a racket, but it's dollars to +apples that they won't catch him." + +In a short time the clamor the boys had been expecting came from the +forest beyond. Captain Joe was barking and growling and, judging from +the commotion in the copse, was evidently threshing about. + +"That's a scrap," Jule declared. "Perhaps he has caught one of the +men. If he has, I hope he's got him by the throat." + +Pressing into the interior of the forest, the level grassy plateau +having long since disappeared, the boys finally came to a small +cleared glade and discovered the cause of Captain Joe's enthusiasm. + +Teddy, the cub, was standing with his back to the hole of a giant tree +inviting the dog to a boxing match. Captain Joe's clamor indicated +only delight at the meeting with his friend. + +Before showing themselves in the glade, the boys looked in every +direction for some indication of the outlaws, but there was no sign of +human life anywhere near them. No noise, save the cries of the +creatures of the air and the jungle. + +"You're a fine old scout, Captain Joe," whispered Clay as he finally +advanced into the glade. "You notify everybody within a mile of us as +to our location, but you don't do a thing to help us find Alex." + +At mention of the lost boy's name, Teddy dropped down from his +antagonistic attitude, and, thrusting a soft muzzle against Clay's +hand, moved away to the west. + +"The cub has more sense than the dog," Jule exclaimed. "Captain Joe +makes a noise, and Teddy does the piloting. Do you suppose he knows +where Alex is?" he added. + +"It seems to me that he is trying to tell us something," Clay replied. +"Anyway, we may as well follow him." + +Teddy, who was an especial favorite of Alex's, and never lost an +opportunity of following him about, appeared to know exactly where he +was going, for he maintained a steady pace for half an hour or more, +keeping to the south shore of the creek for a time and then crossing +on a fallen tree to the opposite bank. + +"Now," said Clay, "we ought not to follow close behind the cub. He +makes as much noise as a freight train going up a steep grade, and +we'll be sure to be seen if the outlaws are anywhere about." + +"Perhaps he will go on alone," Jule suggested. + +"In that case, we can skirt his track and remain hidden. That ought +not to be very difficult in this broken country." + +Teddy turned about with an inquiring glance as the boys left his side, +but soon proceeded on his course. Fearful that Captain Joe would +indulge in another demonstration of some kind, the boys kept him with +them, Jule keeping a close hold on his collar. + +"This doesn't seem much like a river trip to me," Jule grinned as they +passed over rocks, sneaked through miniature canyons and threaded +thickets alive with briers and clinging vines. "Seems more like an +overland expedition to the north star." + +"There is one compensation," Clay added humorously. "Alex will get +good and hungry--and serve him right at that." + +"Huh!" Jule declared, "Alex is always hungry anyway." + +Teddy now quickened his pace so that the boys had great difficulty in +following him. He ran with his nose to the rough ground, his short +ears tipped forward, for all the world like a hound on a scent. + +"Look at the beast!" Jule laughed. "Acts like he was a hound after +foxes. That's some bear, Clay." + +"So far as I know," Clay answered, "he's the only cub that ever did a +stunt like that. Still, he's only exhibiting the advantages of an +early education, for he has long been trained to follow us." + +After a short time the boys, advancing up a ledge and then into a +little gully, came upon Teddy lying flat on the ground, his nose +pointing straight ahead. When they came to him Captain Joe pulled +fiercely to get away, his nose pointing straight to the north. + +"I guess," Jule panted, holding to the dog with all his strength, +"that they have located Alex. If you'll take charge of this +obstreperous animal for a while, I'll sneak ahead and have a look." + +Clay finally succeeded in quieting the dog, and Jule pushed on up the +gully. At the very end, where the depression terminated in a wall of +rock, he saw a faint column of smoke. A closer approach revealed a +small fire of dry sticks with something cooking in a tin pail over the +coals. + +Jule stopped and considered the situation seriously. + +"Now, I wonder," he thought, "why Teddy didn't make a fool of himself +by rushing right up to Alex. I don't believe he's scared of the men, +and, to tell the truth, I don't see any men to be frightened at. Alex +seems to be there alone. Wonder why he doesn't run." + +The reason why Alex didn't run was disclosed in a moment. The boy's +hands were tightly bound across his breast and a strong rope encircled +his ankles. For a moment there was no one in sight save the boy, then +a roughly dressed man came into view carrying an armful of dry wood +for the fire. Jule heard both the dog and the cub protesting at being +kept away from the fellow, and saw the man turn sharply about. + +Then there came another revelation. With bound arms swinging out, and +bound feet kicking violently, Alex was ordering the two animals away. +Well trained as they were, they protested while they obeyed. + +"Is that that bear of yours, again?" Jule heard the man asking. "If I +wasn't afraid of attracting attention, I'd put a bullet into him. Call +him up here and keep him quiet while I gather more dry wood. The boys +will be here in an hour or so and will want breakfast." + +"That settles it," whispered Jule. "If the boys are so far away that +they won't be back in an hour or more, they won't find any cook when +they return. If I have my way, the cook will be tied up." + +"All right," Alex said in reply to the fellow's order, "I'll call him +up and keep him quiet after you go away. He's been used to polite +society and doesn't like you!" + +The man snarled out some surly reply and disappeared. Jule was at his +chum's side in a moment. The ropes were cut, and the two boys were +speeding back to where Clay had been left. + +There was a little scene of congratulation, and then Captain Joe, +growling fiercely, leaped forward. The man who had gone in search of +wood must have heard the noisy greetings of the boys, for he came +running back to the fire. The boys saw him throw a hand back for a +weapon, heard an exclamation of anger, and knew that the dog was +springing at his throat. + +The struggle was a short one, for the man who had been attacked had +not succeeded in reaching his revolver. When the boys reached the +scene the man was black in the face and the dog was shaking him +viciously by the neck. + +"Captain Joe seems to know who his friends are!" Alex shouted. + +"If we don't break his hold in a minute, the man will be dead," Jule +exclaimed, dancing excitedly about, "and we're not out to commit +murder." + +When the clutch of the dog was finally released, the man lay back, +panting, on the ground. An examination of his injury showed that it +was not serious, his throat having been compressed rather than torn. + +In a moment the man sat up and glared about with murder in his +protruding eyes. Seeing the dog still watching him, he gave him a +vicious kick and came near inviting a repetition of the attack. + +"I'll kill that dog!" he shouted. + +"No, you won't!" laughed Alex. "We're going to take that dog out of +this blooming country. We're going to tie you up so you won't +over-exert yourself while in your present weakened condition, and +streak it for the motor boat. We've had enough of this blooming +election precinct." + +This program was carried out so far as moving back toward the motor +boat was concerned, but when, after a long, hard journey, they came to +the place in the river where the _Rambler_ had been left, it was +nowhere to be seen. Satisfied that Case had not proceeded up the +river--the falls would have prevented a long run up--they all entered +the rowboat and passed on down toward the St. Lawrence. + +"Talk about getting lost!" grinned Alex. "Case has gone and lost the +boat!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CASE HAS HIS DOUBTS + + +As may well be imagined, Case was waiting impatiently on board the +_Rambler_ while the events described in the last chapter were taking +place in the forest. It is one thing to face a desperate situation in +the company of helpful friends. It is quite another to consider a +grave peril alone, especially when chums are in danger. + +Several hours passed, and Case heard nothing from the wanderers in the +forest. Then an unexpected visitor arrived. The boy saw an Indian +canoe paddled swiftly up the river. + +He had not had a good chance to observe the visitor who had cut the +cable, thus bring about the meeting with the steamer people, but it +was his opinion that the canoeist was none other than the boy who had +given his name as Max Michel. He anxiously awaited the arrival of the +craft. + +"If that is Max," he thought, "he certainly has a well-developed nerve +to come back to the _Rambler_ after doing what he did." + +In a short time the canoe, coming steadily upstream, touched the hull +of the motor boat, and its occupant clambered alertly to the deck. +Case stood for a moment regarding him with disapproval, no welcome at +all in his face. The boy approached with a confident smile. + +"What are you doing here?" demanded Case. + +"I came," was the quick reply, "because I have news which may interest +you. I know you have good reason to doubt my friendship, but I hope +you will listen to me. It will be in your interest to do so." + +"News of my friends?" asked Case quickly, forgetting in the impulse of +the moment that the boy's information was more than likely to be +misleading. "Have you seen any of the boys to-day?" + +"No," was the slow reply, "but I have heard from them. They crossed +the peninsula early this morning, were lured into a boat passing down +a parallel stream, and must now be somewhere on or near the St. +Lawrence." + +"How do you know all this?" demanded Case half-angrily. + +"Ever since the night I cut your cable," Max began, "I have been more +than ashamed of myself. I was ordered to do the work, and believed +that there was nothing else for me to do except to obey. I was not far +from St. Luce yesterday when you boys went aboard the _Sybil_. The +steamer touched at St. Luce and I afterwards heard the captain telling +a friend of meeting you. Then I decided to return to you, if you were +still in this vicinity." + +"And so you come here and tell me a fairy tale about my chums?" Case +exclaimed. "You don't expect me to believe a word you say, do you?" + +"And yet it is the truth," Max insisted. "I was up this morning early, +paddling across the St. Lawrence, for I knew from the Captain's +conversation that you were over here. Not long ago I came upon a boat +leaving the river to the west. From the man who was rowing, I learned +that your friends had been attacked and captured." + +Case still doubted. He did not like the look in the eyes of the boy. +He remembered the treacherous act which had sent the disabled +_Rambler_ drifting down the St. Lawrence. He thought fast for a moment +and then asked abruptly: + +"Will you tell me what your interest is in this matter?" + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Why did you cut our cable?" + +The boy hesitated a moment, glanced casually over the west bank of the +stream and then lowered his eyes to the deck. + +"I was ordered to do so," he said in a moment. + +"Ordered to disable our motors and cut our cable?" demanded Case +indignantly. "Don't you know that you might have been the cause of our +death? Is everything you have told me to-day just as true as the fairy +tales you told us that night? You may as well be frank." + +Again the boy hesitated. To Case it seemed that he was listening for +some sound or signal from the shore. + +"Will you tell me," continued Case, "who it was that ordered you to +cut our cable and disable our motors?" + +The boy shook his head. His manner was now anxious and uneasy, and +Case turned his own eyes toward the shore which was being watched so +closely. + +"I can't give you the name of my employers," the boy finally said. + +"Then tell me this," insisted Case. "Why did the men who ordered you +to do the work want it done?" + +"I don't know," was the brief reply. + +"I presume," Case went on, "that you would have destroyed the +_Rambler_ with a stick of dynamite if you had been told to do so." + +"I wouldn't have committed murder," was the quick reply. + +"Now let us get back to your story of to-day," Case said. "Who was it +that told you of the capture of my chums?" + +"I can't tell you that." + +"Was it one of your employers?" + +"It was not." + +"Was it a man with whom you are acquainted?" asked Case. + +"I never saw him until to-day," he replied. + +"How did he come to speak to you of the boys at all?" + +"He mentioned that he had seen three boys evidently under a restraint +in a boat with three men farther up the stream." + +"So the boat held three men and three boys? Anyone else?" + +"He did not mention any one else." + +"And the six people were the sole occupants of the boat, were they?" + +"That is what the man told me." + +"Before you concocted this story," Case declared scornfully, "you +ought to have jogged your memory a trifle. You saw Captain Joe and +Teddy on board the _Rambler_ the night you cut our cable. Why didn't +you add to your story and say that the dog and the bear were with the +three boys?" + +"The man I saw said nothing to me about the dog and the bear," Max +insisted stubbornly. "I had only a moment's talk with him." + +"And then you came directly to the _Rambler_ to tell me of the +incident?" + +"I came directly to the spot where I believed the _Rambler_ would be," +was the answer. "Of course, I didn't know exactly where you were, but +Captain Morgan said that when you left him it was your intention to +ascend this stream. I was lucky in finding you." + +"And now," Case asked, with a scornful smile on his lips, "what do you +expect me to do under the circumstances? What would you advise?" + +"I thought," replied Max, "that you would go down the river, and make +your way to the mouth of the other stream." + +"Why do your employers want me to leave my present location?" asked +Case. "Do they want the boys to come out of the forest and find the +_Rambler_ gone? Is that what you were sent here for?" + +"Oh, well," Max exclaimed, "if you don't believe what I say, and won't +take advantage of the honest information I have given you, I may as +well be on my way." + +He moved toward the gunwale of the boat, as he spoke and began untying +the line which held his canoe to the _Rambler_. Case stepped forward +and laid a detaining hand on his shoulder. + +"Just a moment," the boy said. "You are not going to leave the +_Rambler_ until my chums return, and perhaps not then." + +"Do you mean that you intend to keep me prisoner?" flashed Max. + +"That is just exactly what I mean to do," Case responded. "I don't +know what your object in coming here really is, for I believe that as +a prevaricator, you have Ananias backed off the board. I dislike to +use the shorter and uglier word, Max, but you certainly are the +greatest liar I ever came across. You'll stay here until we know more +about you." + +"You'd better do a little thinking before you keep me here," Max +threatened. "You are making a lot of trouble for yourself." + +"I'll have to risk that," Case replied. "Have you got any weapons +about your person? If you have, give them up." + +Max shook his head angrily. + +"If I had had a weapon," he declared, "you would have known all about +it the minute you laid a hand on my shoulder." + +"Will you promise to remain on the boat without attempting to escape +if I leave you your liberty?" Case asked. + +"I will promise nothing!" was the ugly reply. + +"All right," Case said. + +There was a rush and a little struggle, but in the end, Max was +overcome and stowed away bound hand and foot in the cabin. + +Leaving his prisoner there, foaming with rage and searching a limited +vocabulary for words to express his feelings, Case went out to the +prow of the _Rambler_ and sat down to think over the situation. + +"That boy," he mused, "was sent here to induce me to take the +_Rambler_ out of this place. Why?" + +The boy considered the problem for a long time. He was hoping that +some of his chums would make their appearance. He disliked very much +to take the _Rambler_ away from the place where they had left it, and +still there might be a grain of truth in what Max had said. + +The day was bright and still. The deep green foliage of the forest +shone and shimmered in the sun. There were birds in the air, and here +and there timid creatures of the jungle came out to the stream to +drink and peer with questioning eyes at the stranger who had invaded +their leafy retreat. There were no signs of human life anywhere except +on board the _Rambler_. The continued absence of the boys seemed +unaccountable. + +"Well," the boy decided, presently, "I'll take a chance on a visit to +the St. Lawrence. It won't take long to run down, swing up to the +other end of the peninsula and investigate the west stream. If the +boys come back while I am gone, they'll probably hear the motors +clamoring and know that I am not far away. Still, I don't think +they'll come." + +Case was slowly reaching the uncomfortable conclusion that the boys +had, indeed, been overcome by the outlaws. In that case, his first act +ought to be to secure help. If he returned to the St. Lawrence, he +might meet a friendly captain who would be willing to assist him in +the rescue. + +So, with this idea in his mind, the boy drew up the anchor, started +the motors to popping and headed the _Rambler_ down stream. The boat +proceeded at full speed, and soon the arm of the bay which closed in +behind the peninsula came in view. + +Anchored there, in a sheltered cove on the north shore of the river, +was a trim little launch. Case could see four men moving about in the +cockpit at the rear of the little trunk cabin. He immediately directed +the _Rambler_ toward the craft and hailed across the water. He was +answered promptly. + +"Is that the _Rambler_?" was asked. + +"The _Rambler_ it is," answered Case. "Are you looking for her?" + +"Not especially," was the reply. "We were told that you were here by +Captain Morgan, whom we saw up the river." + +"Come aboard," invited Case, and in a few moments two bright-looking +young men ascended from a small boat to the deck of the _Rambler_. + +"I am Joseph Fontenelle," one of the young men said, "and this is my +friend, Sam Howard. We were just going up the river when we saw you +coming down. Are you alone on board?" + +"My friends are somewhere back in the forest," Case explained, certain +that it was safe to trust the visitors. "I seem to have lost them." + +"Then we have probably arrived just in time," Fontenelle went on. "As +you probably know from my name, we are here on the old search for the +charter. Captain Morgan, I am told, related the story to you. For +myself, I have little faith in the quest, but father insists that I +make a try to solve the mystery every summer. This is my third visit +to what we call Cartier island. I expect to make them annually as long +as father lives." + +"You have no faith in the story of the lost charter and the missing +family jewels?" asked Case. + +"Oh, they were lost, without doubt, and possibly in this country, but +there is no clew whatever to their whereabouts." + +Case was wondering if the Fontenelles had a copy of the crude map +which had been so mysteriously brought to the _Rambler_. He was +wondering, too, if it would be safe for him to tell this youthful +representative of the French family all that he knew of the two +communications and the attacks which had been made on the _Rambler_. +The question was virtually settled by Fontenelle himself. + +"I am told," the young man said, "that you boys were placed in peril +by being mistaken for us." + +"We had a scrap with river pirates, if that is what you mean," Case +replied, "and Captain Morgan helped us to get away from them." + +"I'm afraid," Fontenelle went on, "that the men you term 'river +pirates' are pirates only for the purpose of this occasion. We have +always been opposed in our quest for what father calls the lost +channel." + +"Opposed everywhere in your searches?" Case asked, "or opposed only +when you come to this section?" + +"Opposed only in this vicinity," answered Fontenelle, gazing keenly at +the boy. "I see what you mean," he added. "At least, your inference is +that those who are opposing us really know more about the location of +the charter and the jewels than we know ourselves, and that they +believe them to be here." + +"That is the way it seems to me," Case answered, "still if they think +they know that the property sought for is in this vicinity, their +knowledge fails when they try to put their hand upon it. They can only +hope for success in case of your failure, and so they oppose your +every effort." + +"That is the way in which we look at it," Fontenelle replied. "In +fact, father is positive that the search for the charter goes steadily +on in this vicinity throughout most of the year. + +"Last year, we had quite a merry picnic with a scout sent up to +obstruct our search, and one of our men was seriously wounded. Our +enemies are certainly becoming desperate, and if, as you say, your +chums appear to be lost in the forest, we ought to be getting up there +to look after them. They may be sorely in need of help." + +"I thank you for your offer of assistance," Case replied, "and it is +my opinion that we can't get back there too quickly. Come over here +and look through the cabin window," he continued, "pointing through +the glass panel to where he had left Max lying bound on the bunk." + +Then the look of amusement vanished from the boy's face, and he opened +the door and passed quickly into the cabin. Max was nowhere to be +seen. He had disappeared as completely as if the hull of the _Rambler_ +had opened and dropped him into the stream. The ropes with which he +had been tied lay on the floor, but the boy was gone. + +The open window at the rear of the motor boat, told the story. In +answer to Fontenelle's looks of inquiry, Case briefly told the story +of Max's visit and capture. The young man pondered a moment and then +said: + +"I don't believe the boys have been captured at all. The chances are +that they are still in the forest, probably looking for the boy who +disappeared last night. + +"This boy Max, if your description tallies with my recollection, has +appeared in the game before to-day. He is a wharf rat at Quebec, and +is being used by these outlaws to further their treacherous ends. I +wish we had found him here." + +As the boys passed out on deck, the barking of a dog came from up the +river. There was no mistaking the voice. It was Captain Joe, and he +was deploring the absence of his floating home. Case smiled happily at +the sound, and then his face grew serious, for gunshots followed the +echo of the dog's voice. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DISCOVERY OF MAX + + +Case hastened to put the _Rambler_ under motion, and, with Fontenelle +and Howard still on board, headed her into the current. At a signal +from Fontenelle, the launch _Cartier_ drew up her anchor and followed. + +To Captain Joe's vicious barking was now added the surly voice of the +bear cub, so the boys knew that the animals were not far away. In +fact, as they paused to investigate the ugly nose of the bulldog was +pushed through the curtain of shrubbery at the edge of the stream, and +Teddy leaped snarling into the water. + +Fontenelle greeted the approach of the animals to the boat with shouts +of laughter. Even in their haste to reach the boat, the animals could +not avoid snapping and striking at each other, playfully. No more +shots were heard, but presently a great tramping in the undergrowth +came at the point where Joe and Teddy had made their appearance, +indicating human presence there. All on board the _Rambler_ anxiously +awaited the appearance of those who were struggling in the jungle. + +"Would the menagerie run away and leave the boys in captivity?" asked +Fontenelle, as the bulldog and the bear cub were assisted, streaming, +to the deck. "They seem to have had a long run." + +"Indeed, they would not," replied Case. "If Clay and the others were +tied up in the woods, Captain Joe and Teddy would be there with them. +No, it is my opinion that it is Alex making all that racket in the +brush. He's a noisy little chap, and particularly troublesome when +hungry." + +The next moment proved Case's reasoning to be correct, for the +undergrowth parted again and the three boys appeared on the bank. + +"Ship ahoy!" Alex shouted, wrinkling his freckled nose. "Do you want +to take on passengers?" + +"I hope," Case called back, "that you fellows haven't gone and lost +the rowboat. And where is the two-foot fish you were going to bring +for breakfast? I don't see it anywhere." + +"Well," Jule called out, as the _Rambler_ edged toward the bank, "if +we have lost a boat, you seem to have found one." + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Case. + +Jule pointed, and Case went to the gunwale of the _Rambler_ and looked +down upon the fragile canoe in which Max had paddled up the river. + +"I didn't know that we were towing it," he said, "but its presence +here accounts for Max getting away without being seen or heard. He +never stopped to get his boat, and may be swimming under water yet, +for all I know. I hope he's clear down at the bottom." + +"No danger of one of those wharf rats getting drowned," Fontenelle +laughed. "I have seen them remain under water for what seemed to me to +be five minutes, and Max is some riverside boy." + +"Shoot the canoe over," cried Clay, "and we'll come aboard." + +"Where's your boat?" demanded Case. + +"Well, you see," explained Clay, "when we missed the _Rambler_, we +started for the St. Lawrence by the water route, but when ruffians on +the bank began shooting, we tied up the boat and took to the thicket." + +Case released the line and sent the light canoe spinning over the +surface of the river. Clay caught the rope deftly and one by one the +boys paddled over to the motor boat. Alex threw himself down on the +deck and gazed imploringly up at Case. + +"I expected," he said whimsically, "that you'd welcome me on the bank +of the river with a pie!" + +"The next time you get us into trouble," Case laughed, "I'll meet you +on the bank of the river with a club." + +The three boys were presented to Fontenelle and Howard and then +preparations for breakfast were begun. + +"Alex got taken prisoner up in the woods," Jule grinned. "We cut him +loose and tied up the cook. We were thinking of getting breakfast +there, but we preferred fish and pancakes to lead and gunpowder, so we +made a run for the boat." + +"Is the cook tied up yet?" asked Case. + +"I reckon they cut him loose in about ten minutes," Alex replied, "for +they seemed to be about three steps behind us all the way to the +river, but they didn't catch us." + +"Do you think we would better go back after the rowboat?" Case asked, +as the boys sat down to a breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, beans +and hot coffee. "We ought not to loose it." + +"Look here," Jule said. "We've been sowing rowboats over the world for +a year or two. We lost two on the Amazon, one on the Columbia, two on +the Colorado and had three smashed on the Mississippi. Now, I think +we'd better go back and get this boat." + +"All right," Alex grinned. "You go on back and get it." + +"Well, don't you ever think I can't," Jule replied. "I can sneak up +there and swipe that boat from under their noses. But you needn't +think I'm going to set out as long as there is anything here to eat." + +While the boys took breakfast, the situation as explained to Case by +Fontenelle was described to them, and after a time Case beckoned Clay +away to a corner of the cabin and asked him a question over which he +had been puzzling ever since the arrival of Fontenelle. + +"Now you understand the situation," Case said, "and I want you to +answer this question right off the handle. I've decided it half a +dozen ways, but I have been fortunate enough so far to keep my mouth +shut." + +"What is the question?" asked Clay. + +"Wait," Case said. "I'll make a little explanation first. These +Fontenelle people have only the legend of the lost channel and the +loss of the charter and the family jewels in this section. They +haven't a single clew which tells them to look in any special spot +first. + +"So far as I can make out, young Fontenelle and his friends come down +here every summer, in answer to the demands of the elder Fontenelle, +for a sort of a vacation. So far as I can make out, they have never +honestly searched for the lost channel. In fact, the young man has +doubts of its existence. Now, what I want to know is this." + +"Why didn't you say so before?" asked Clay with a smile. "I know what +your question is. You want to know if we ought to show Fontenelle the +map which was brought to the _Rambler_ so mysteriously." + +"Aw, of course, you could guess it after I had stated the case fully," +Case declared. "But you haven't told me what you think about it. Ought +we to give Fontenelle the map?" + +"Well," Clay answered, cautiously, "the map doesn't belong to us. It +wasn't intended for us. It was handed to us by a man who evidently +believed that he was turning it over to Fontenelle." + +"Yes," Case said, "it does look as if the map belongs to Fontenelle, +but look here! He doesn't believe in this search. It is my idea that +he doesn't even care whether he secures the lost property or not. He +won't consider the matter seriously if we give it to him. He'll just +laugh and poke it away among a lot of old papers and that will be the +end of it." + +"You are undoubtedly right," Clay answered. + +"Now," Case went on, "we've had enough trouble with these outlaws to +arouse my fighting blood. Besides, I'd like to have a look at that +lost channel. Lost channels appeal to me, you know! I'd give a lot to +find it. Why not keep the map and go on with the search?" + +"But the other fellows would be searching, too, and the whole event +would deteriorate into a big summer outing," Clay insisted. + +"All right, then," Case suggested. "Suppose we go on up the river to +Quebec, and Montreal, and the Thousand Islands, and then come back +after these fellows have gone home, and find that channel." + +"That listens pretty good to me," Clay answered. "I am willing to go +on at once if it is a sure thing that we come back, but I don't want +to sneak away from these fellows after they have started the fight." + +"That shows courage, all right enough," Case added, "but I'd rather +hunt for this lost channel with these toughs on the wharf at Quebec, +and," he added, more seriously, "that's where I think they'll be by +the time we get back here. They won't stay here long after Fontenelle +goes away." + +"Very well," Clay replied, "if Jule and Alex are willing, we'll be on +our way this afternoon." + +This understanding having been reached, the two boys went back to +their guests, while Jule went ashore in the canoe. + +"Now, watch the little rat," Alex laughed. "He'll tie that boat up and +blunder through the briers, when he might paddle up the stream close +to the bank without taking any chances." + +But Jule did nothing of the kind. He kept on up the stream in the +canoe. Presently he rounded a bend and disappeared from sight. + +In a short time Fontenelle and his friend left the _Rambler_ with the +understanding that the two crews were to meet in the evening if the +boys did not sail away in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, as the +reader already knows, the boys had decided to leave before the parting +took place, but they did not care to be urged to remain and join in +the summer vacation picnic which was sure to follow. + +They had started out for a trip covering the whole length of the St. +Lawrence river from the Gulf to Lake Ontario, and were determined to +cover the course before shipping their boat back to Chicago. + +In less than an hour Jule was back with the rowboat, having seen +nothing of the outlaws. + +"They probably thought the whole Canadian navy was coming after them," +Alex said, pointing from the _Rambler_ to the _Cartier_ and back +again. "Looks like we were coming out in force." + +In the middle of the afternoon the boys notified Fontenelle of their +intention to proceed on their journey, and the _Rambler_ passed on up +the St. Lawrence. + +It was a golden day in summer, the waters sparkled and danced in the +sunlight, and the shipping passing to and fro on the river made a +pleasant picture of marine life. The boys enjoyed the situation +thoroughly. + +"I have always had a longing to visit Quebec," Clay said as the boat +headed for a little cove to avoid the wash of a giant steamer, "and I +propose that we spend two or three days there looking over things." + +"That suits me," Alex cut in. "When we get there, I'll go down on the +docks and find that boy Max. And when I find him, there'll be one +wharf rat less on the docks." + +"You better keep away from the docks," warned Case. "You'd get lost on +South Clark street between any two blocks you could name." + +"Well, I always find myself again," Alex declared. + +"Yes, you do," Case jeered. "The last time you got lost, it took two +boys and a bear and a bulldog to find you. And I don't think you are +worth the trouble at that!" + +The boys immediately had a friendly struggle on the deck, in which +Teddy and Captain Joe promptly mixed. + +That night the boys arranged for another campfire on the north bank of +the St. Lawrence. They put up their hammocks, anchored the boat close +inshore, and prepared for a long sleep. + +"If there isn't any lost channels or charters from French kings or +strayed family jewels hiding about here," Jule commented, "we'll +certainly enjoy ourselves in this camp." + +Nothing came to disturb them during the night. They watched the +procession of craft of all descriptions on the river until nine +o'clock, then went to sleep with a danger signal swinging from the +prow of the _Rambler_. They were early astir in the morning and on +their way upstream. + +There was no need of haste, yet the boys seemed to enjoy themselves +most when the boat was in motion, so they plowed slowly up the river +until night, enjoying the wild scenery and stopping now and then at a +little settlement. That was the first of many days of uninterrupted +pleasure on the most extensive water system of the North American +continent. + +On the second night, they made another camp with only Captain Joe and +Teddy standing guard. Alex was out after fish early in the morning, +and at six o'clock he served one of his long-wished for fish a la +Indian breakfasts. + +Just before nightfall, they came within sight of Quebec and moored at +a pier a short distance down the river. + +"Now," laughed Case, "if any treasure seekers or outlaws or river +pirates appear to us during the night, we'll call the police. We've +had trouble enough for one trip." + +"I'm going to sleep ten hours every night until we get to the Thousand +Islands," declared Jule. "I'm hungry and sleepy most of the time." + +"And we'll come back down the rapids, won't we?" asked Alex. + +"You bet we will," replied Clay. "We'll come down like a shot." + +"We'll need to," Jule suggested, "because we'll lose time in the canal +going up." + +There was no open campfire or swinging hammocks for the boys that +night. The city of Quebec twinkled its myriad lights from plateau and +cliff, and the boys were not sure of whom they might meet during the +dark hours. They cooked their supper early in order to make an evening +trip in the lower part of the city. + +"I wonder," Case said, as, leaving Jule and Clay on board, he started +away with Alex, "what the man who delivered the map to us is thinking +about concerning his mistake now. He might have been paid to deliver +that document to Fontenelle, and the error may make him trouble." + +"And I was just thinking," Alex put in, "what the fellows who +delivered the warning to us are thinking concerning themselves. They +wasted a lot of ammunition and lost a good many hours' sleep on our +account." + +"Perhaps we'll find out all about it when we go back to find the lost +channel," Case suggested. "Do you know," he added, "I'm looking +forward to that lost channel stunt with a good deal of enthusiasm." + +"Do you really think there's a lost channel there?" asked Alex. + +"There is something in it," Case asserted. "Men don't draw maps +entirely on imagination." + +"Then why don't the men who drew the map go and tell Fontenelle all +about it?" + +"He tried to tell him all about it when he delivered the map to us, +but as you know, the map reached the wrong hands." + +The boys walked the streets, comparing them unfavorably with those of +Chicago, until nearly ten o'clock and then turned to go to the boat. +When they came to the river front again, Alex stopped suddenly and +caught Case by the arm. + +"Look there," he whispered, "What do you know about that?" + +"About what?" asked Case, puzzled. + +"Don't you see him down there at the head of the pier?" asked Alex, +nodding his head in that direction. + +"I guess you're the boy that's got loose packing in his head +to-night," laughed Case. "What do you see?" + +"What do I see?" repeated Alex. "That's Max, the wharf rat, the cable +cutter, the motor destroyer. Shall we go and get him?" + +"Go and get him?" repeated Case. "He'd have a flock of wharf rats +around us in about two minutes." + +"Well," Alex insisted, "we'd better stay here and see where he goes, +anyway. If we can locate the fellow now, we can go after him any +time." + +"Then I guess we can go after him any time," Case chuckled, "because +he's heading for that eating house with the tin fish sign in front of +it." + +"Then here we go for the tin fish," Alex declared, and in five +minutes, they were seated at a little table in an alcove separated +only by a heavy cloth curtain from the main room of a third-rate +French restaurant. + +When a waiter appeared they gave their orders and sat watching the +main room through the folds of the curtain. + +"There!" Alex finally said in a whisper. "He's coming in." + +"Yes," grunted Case, "and he's got a dozen wharf rats with him. I +guess they've got us in as neat a trap as one boy ever set for +another!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A BUSY NIGHT IN QUEBEC + + +"I don't understand," Alex said, peering through the curtain, "why he +should want to do anything to us. Perhaps he won't notice us at all." + +"Don't you ever think he won't," grinned Case. "Didn't I truss him up +like a hen in the cabin and threaten to arrest him, and didn't he +declare that he would shoot me if he ever got a chance? Don't you +believe he'll let us get out of here without trouble!" + +"Oh, well," Alex replied, "if he starts anything we'll get out all +right in spite of him, and in spite of his wharf rats." + +"I've got an idea," Case said, watching the collection of +roughly-dressed boys sitting about a table in the other room, "that +that kid has been waiting in Quebec for us." + +"What shall we do, then," Alex asked still in a whisper. "Shall we +make a break and get out right now?" + +"We may as well wait and see what takes place," Case answered. "This +is a pretty tough joint, I guess, and some one may start something. In +that case, we can get out while they are beating each other up." + +The lunches ordered were now brought by the waiter, and the boys fell +to, although, as may well be imagined, without much appetite. Max sat +with his face turned toward the curtain, evidently trying to discover +whether his enemies were using the alcove. He had seen the boys enter +the restaurant, but was not quite certain as to which room they had +seated themselves in. His face was watchful and vicious. + +Half an hour passed and the situation did not change, then Alex +plucked Case by the sleeve, motioning toward the outer door. + +"We may as well move," he said. "It is getting late, and the streets +are now growing more unsafe every minute because of such night +prowlers as you see out there. It we've got to fight, we may as well +begin." + +But it was not necessary for them to start the engagement, as Max came +to the alcove directly and drew the curtain roughly aside. The boys +remained in their seats, grinning up at him, but their hands under the +cover of the table grasped their automatics. + +"Hello!" Alex said presently. "We never expected to meet you here." + +"Oh, I had an idea you'd be along," Max said with an ugly frown. + +"Come on in and set down," Case urged with a chuckle. "I'd like to +have you tell me why you disappeared so suddenly." + +"That's a nice question to ask!" Max snarled. "You tie me up like a +pig in the cabin and then wonder why I get out of your clutches!" + +"You had a little swim for it, didn't you?" asked Case. + +"Yes," was the reply, "and I'll make you sweat for every drop of water +I swallowed during that long dive. I'll show you a thing or two!" + +"What was there in that job for you, anyway?" asked Alex. "We've got a +new manila cable charged up to you." + +"Mark the bill down on ice," snorted Max, "and lay the ice on the +stove. You did me dirt there and I'm going to get even!" + +"Go as far as you like," said Case. "We are here to answer all +questions." + +Max, who had been standing in the entrance to the alcove, with the +curtain half over his shoulder, now turned and beckoned to the +rough-looking boys gathered about the table he had just left. + +"Friends of yours?" asked Alex as the others gathered about the +alcove. "They look as if they might be." + +The boys outside now began jostling each other roughly, as if +preparing to start a fake fight among themselves. That, as Alex and +Case well knew, is an old, old trick in the underworld. Whenever an +enemy is to be attacked, it is common practice for the assailants to +start a fight among themselves, being certain that their enemies are +dealt most of the blows. Many an apparently innocent bystander has +been murdered in that way. + +The proprietor of the place came rushing out of an inner room as the +toughs hustled each other back and forth and timidly remonstrated with +them. It was evident that he stood in fear of the gang. The boys saw +that no help might be expected from him. + +At last one of the toughs received a blow which, apparently, forced +him inside the alcove, then the whole crowd rushed in, swarming over +Alex and Case like the wharf rats they were. The boys drew their +revolvers, but did not fire. Instead they sprang to the top of the +table and used the handles of their weapons to good purpose. + +In the meantime the proprietor was running back and forth from the +alcove to the door and from the door to the alcove, urging the boys to +act "like little gentlemen," and at the same time shouting for the +police. But no officers made their appearance. + +The weight of humanity on the table upon which the boys were standing +now brought it down with a crash to the floor. The situation was +becoming serious, and the boys were preparing to use their guns when +an unexpected event occurred. + +The night being warm, the street door was wide open, but a little +crowd had gathered about it. Disturbances were frequent in that place, +however, and none of the onlookers seemed inclined to interfere. + +As they stood looking, a heavy body catapulted against their +shoulders, and the next moment the heavy body of a white bulldog +leaped over their heads into the room. + +The toughs in the alcove, who had just settled down to a steady +pommeling of the boys with their bare fists, turned for an instant as +sharp claws clattered over the floor, and some of them stepped aside. +Then Captain Joe leaped atop of the struggling mass and began a +vigorous exercise of his very capable teeth. + +In a second the whole place was in confusion. Patrons rushed out from +other rooms, the proprietor appeared from behind the desk bearing a +revolver. There was an inrush from the street, and then two pistol +shots sounded. As the acrid smell of powder smoke seeped into the air, +there was a rattle of glass and the two ceiling lights were +extinguished. + +Save for the uncertain light from incandescents in the other alcoves, +the place was now in darkness, except for the illumination which came +in from the street. + +Cries, shouts and epithets of the vilest character rang through the +place. Long before the light of the gas jets could be turned on, the +boys and the dog were out on the pavement, making good progress toward +a policeman in uniform, who appeared under an arc light not far away. +The officer held up his heavy night stick as the boys approached him. + +The sound of running feet came out and in a moment the officer and the +two boys were surrounded by the wharf rats who had been in the +restaurant. The officer promptly drew a revolver. + +"What's doing here!" he demanded. "Who did that shooting back there?" + +"These two boys did it!" Max promptly explained, pointing at Alex and +Case. "They shot out the lights and robbed the till!" + +The officer put up his revolver and his night stick, seized Alex and +Case by the shoulders, and started off up the street, the toughs +following at his heels. There was a patrol box on the next corner and +the boys attempted no defence of their conduct until this was reached. +As the policeman turned the key he glanced quickly from one face to +the other. + +"What have you boys got to say for yourselves?" he asked. + +"We'll tell that to the judge," replied Alex. + +"Come, now, don't get gay!" the officer said. "You don't look like +boys who would be apt to get into a scrape like that." + +The boys were so pleased at having escaped from the restaurant with +whole heads that they did not much mind the arrest. In fact, just at +that moment the officer was about the most welcome person who could +have made his appearance, with the exception of Captain Joe, of +course. + +The dog now stood close by the patrol box showing his teeth and asking +Alex for permission to take the officer by the leg. + +"We haven't robbed any tills lately!" Alex said, wrinkling his +freckled nose at the officer. + +"Lookout!" one of the boys shouted from the crowd. "That bulldog will +get you, officer. He chewed up two boys back in the restaurant. + +"Good old Captain Joe," exclaimed Alex, patting the dog on the head. + +The dog did not for a moment lose sight of a spot on the officer's +thigh, which seemed to invite attack. + +"Is that your dog?" asked the policeman. + +"Sure, that's our dog," answered Alex. + +"And what did you say his name was?" + +"Captain Joe." + +The officer released his hold on the boys and leaned against the +patrol box. The police wagon was now in sight, racing down the street +with a great jangling of bells, and the crowd around the officer began +to thin. They had evidently seen that wagon before. + +"Say, Mr. Officer," Alex said, "why don't you grab a couple of those +boys? They are going to be witnesses against us, you know." + +The officer made no reply, but reached down and patted Captain Joe on +the head, an action which the dog strongly resented. + +"Did you say the dog ate a couple of wharf rats back there?" asked the +officer, turning to the diminishing crowd. + +"You bet he did!" half a dozen voices cried in chorus. "He's a holy +terror." + +"I've got a hole in my leg you could push a chair through," one of +them shouted. "Arrest him!" + +The police wagon now backed up to the curb and the boys stepped inside +followed by Captain Joe. + +"Here!" questioned the man in charge of the wagon, "are you going in +with us, off your beat, and are you going to arrest the dog? He looks +like a hard citizen!" + +"Not a bit of it!" answered the officer. "He chewed up two wharf rats +back there, according to all accounts, and I'm going in to tell the +sergeant, and to ask the captain to give him a medal. If he had only +killed them, I'd try to get him on the pension list." + +"Say," Case remarked, "you seem to be an all-right policeman. I guess +you know that bunch back there." + +"Every officer in the city knows that bunch," replied the policeman. +"When they're not in the penitentiary, they're making trouble for the +force. They ought to get a hundred years apiece." + +"What will we get for shooting out the lights?" asked Alex. + +"So you did shoot out the lights!" + +"We didn't do anything else," declared Alex. + +"Say, Mr. Cop, you've seen terriers go after a rat in a pit, haven't +you?" asked Case. "Well, that's just the way that gang went after us. +We'd be dead now if Captain Joe hadn't run away from the _Rambler_ and +followed us." + +"There!" cried the officer clapping Alex on the back, "I've been +trying to think of that name ever since I saw the dog. We've got +pictures of this dog and the _Rambler_ and a grizzly bear called Teddy +pasted up in the squad room. We cut them out of newspapers six months +ago when you boys were somewhere out on the Columbia river." + +"On the Colorado river," corrected Case. "We found Teddy Bear in a a +timber wreck on the Columbia, and he never had his picture taken until +we got to San Francisco." + +"Is the _Rambler_ down on the river now?" asked the officer, and Case +nodded. "Because, if it is," the policeman went on, "some one had +better be getting down there! The wharf rats will eat it up before +morning, plank by plank!" + +"How are we going to get down there if you lock us up?" asked Case. + +"You may not be locked up," was the reply. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MENAGERIE IN ACTION + + +After the departure of Alex and Case from the _Rambler_, Clay and Jule +drew out the two mysterious messages they had received and studied +them over carefully. + +"What do you think about this lost channel proposition?" asked Jule. + +"If a channel ever went through the neck of land as shown by the map, +that section must have been visited by an earthquake," Clay laughed. +"There isn't a sign of a channel there. Instead, there's a great high +ledge of rock crossing the peninsula, just where the line shows the +channel ought to be. It is my private opinion that no water ever +crossed that peninsula. There must be some mistake in location." + +"The men who made the map might have drawn the line indicating the +channel in the wrong place," Jule suggested. + +"Well," Clay concluded, "we'll have a look at it when we go back, but +what I can't understand is why the map should have been given to the +wrong party. If a man had such a map in any way accurate, he would +have presented it to Fontenelle in person and demanded a stiff price +for it." + +"It looks that way to me!" Jule agreed. + +There was a volume in the cabin of the _Rambler_ descriptive of the +St. Lawrence river from the gulf to Lake Ontario. This the boys +brought out and studied diligently until a late hour. + +At last Clay arose, yawned, and looked at his watch. + +"I wonder why Alex and Case don't return!" he asked. "It can't be +possible that that little scamp has gone and lost himself again, can +it?" + +"Just like him!" snickered Jule. "If I had a dollar for every time +he's been lost I'd have all the money I will ever need." + +"That's pretty near the truth!" Clay agreed. "However, we've got +Captain Joe and Teddy left with us to help look him up." + +He leaned back in his chair and whistled to the dog, but no Captain +Joe made his appearance. Teddy came shambling into the cabin and held +out a paw, suggesting sugar. Clay glanced up at Jule with puzzled +eyes. + +"Isn't the dog out on deck?" he asked. + +The boy hastened out and returned in a moment with the information +that the bulldog was nowhere in sight. + +"Have you seen him since Alex and Case left?" Clay asked. + +"He was here quite a spell after they went away, but he didn't seem +contented. All the time I was on deck he was walking back and forth +looking longingly over into the city." + +"Then he's followed the boys," Clay agreed. "We won't see him again +until they return. The only wonder is that Teddy didn't go with him." + +"We'll have to get steel cages made for our menagerie," Jule proposed. +"We can't keep a single member of our happy family on the boat when +Alex is away. No one else seems to count with them." + +The boys were not inclined to sleep, so they sat watchfully in the +cabin with the electricity off. Spears of light came from warehouse +offices on the pier, and far up the street a great arc light made the +thoroughfare almost plain to the eye as day. The roar of night traffic +in the city and the wash of the river drowned all individual sounds, +and the boys sat in what amounted to silence so far as any noises +directly on the boat were concerned. + +Somewhere along toward midnight, when they had about given up hope of +the immediate return of the boys, there came a quick jar, and the boat +swayed as if under the foot of a person mounting the deck. + +"There they are, I reckon!" Jule shouted, passing to the cabin door +which was open to admit the cool breeze of the night. + +Clay stepped forward, too, but paused in a moment and drew Alex back. +A crouching figure was now discernible on the prow, and Clay reached +for the switch which controlled the lamp there. + +With his hand almost to the switch Clay stopped and turned back to +where Jule stood, searching his bunk for an automatic which had been +placed there. Then the boat swayed again, and there were three figures +on the deck instead of one. The light from the street showed only bare +outlines. The whole scene was uncanny. + +"I don't know what to make of this," Clay whispered. "Shall we turn on +the light, or shall we begin shooting right now?" + +"If we turn on the light," Jule whispered back, "they'll see us. At +present, they undoubtedly believe the boat to be deserted." + +"I think they'll run if we turn on the lights," Clay suggested, +softly. "They're probably river thieves looking for plunder." + +The men on the deck now grouped together, evidently whispering, and +trying to decide upon some course of action. In the faint light, they +seemed to be hulking, heavily-built men, and the boys were not anxious +to come into close contact with them. + +"It may be just as well," Clay finally decided, "to remain quiet for a +short time and see what they intend to do." + +"That's easy," Jule whispered, "they intend to steal the boat." + +"A good many other people have tried to steal this boat," Clay +responded, "but we still seem to be in possession of it!" + +After standing for a minute or two near the prow, the intruders moved +stealthily toward the cabin. The door was open, but all was dark +inside. As they slouched forward, their footsteps made no sound upon +the deck. + +"Shall we shoot to kill?" whispered Jule. "I'm tired of having the +scum of the earth always attempting to rob us." + +"I'd never get over it if I should kill some one," Clay replied. "We'd +better frighten them away and see that no more get on board to-night." + +As he spoke, the boy reached for the switch and turned it. Greatly to +his amazement, the prow lamp remained dark. In some strange manner the +intruders had disconnected the wires or broken the globe. The click of +the switch seemed to have reached their ears, informing them that some +one was on board. + +They rushed toward the cabin and came solidly against the door which +was quickly shut, almost in their faces. The lock rattled sharply +under the assault of a muscular hand, and the whole front of the cabin +quivered and creaked under the weight of a burly body. + +"Open up here!" shouted a gruff voice. "Open up, or we'll break the +door down. We knew you were here all the time!" + +"This begins to look serious," whispered Clay. "We may have to shoot." + +"Say the word," Jule suggested, "and I'll make the front of the cabin +look like a sieve, and every bullet will count, too." + +"I'd like to aid in the capture of a couple of those fellows," Clay +said, "and I wonder if one of us couldn't get out of the rear window, +jump over on the pier, and call the police. Such ruffians ought not to +be at liberty." + +"All right," Jule whispered. "You go, and I'll stay here and talk to +them until you get out. I can keep them amused all right." + +While this short conversation had been in progress the pounding at the +door had continued, and now something heavy, like a timber or a very +heavy foot, came banging against the panels. + +"Just a minute more," one of the midnight prowlers shouted, "and we'll +break this door down and get you boys good!" + +Clay moved to the rear of the cabin, drew in the swinging sash, and +stepped lightly out on the after deck. The lights along the river +front were fewer now, and the windows of the warehouses, illuminated +an hour before, were dark. A roaring wind was blowing up the river, +and the wash of the waves was rocking the _Rambler_ unpleasantly. + +In all the long street in sight from the pier there was no sign of a +uniformed officer. Clay did not know how far he would have to run to +find one, so he decided to remain where he was for a time and, if +necessary, perhaps attack the intruders from the rear. + +Crouching low on the after deck, he could hear Jule talking to the +outlaws, and smiled as he listened to the boy's attempts to interest +them. + +"If you break down that door," he heard Jule say, "you'll have to pay +for it! That door cost money." + +A volley of oaths and river billingsgate followed the remark, and +blows which fairly shook the cabin came upon the sturdy panels. + +While Clay sat listening, half resolved to make his way over to the +pier and fire a few shots over the heads of the ruffians, a figure +dropped lightly on the deck at his side and Teddy's soft muzzle was +pressed against his face. He stroked the bear gently. + +"I don't blame you for getting out of there, Teddy," he said. "They'll +wreck the boat if we don't do something pretty soon. What would you +advise, old chap?" he added whimsically. + +Teddy sniffed the air in the direction of the pier and clambered +clumsily up to the top of the cabin. + +"I wouldn't go up there if I were you," Clay advised. + +Teddy continued his way over the roof and finally came to the forward +edge. Clay raised his head to the level of the roof and watched him. +As he did so a round circle of light sprang up at the head of the +pier, flashed toward the river for a moment, and died out. The next +moment a sound of some one stumbling over a bale of goods reached his +ears. Then the light flashed out again, and the pounding on the cabin +door ceased. + +"Now I wonder," Clay pondered, "if that isn't Alex and Case! They +usually have their searchlights with them, and Case is always +stumbling over something. It would be fine to have them appear now!" + +Directly a finger of light shot down the pier, and under it a white +body swung toward the boat. Clay crawled back through the window and +approached the door, where Jule was still standing with his automatic +in his hand. + +The pounding had now ceased entirely, the men evidently having been +warned by the light. It seemed to Clay that the unwelcome visitors +were now crouching in the darkness ready to attack any one who might +attempt to come on board. + +"Just wait a minute," whispered Clay in Jule's ear. "Just you wait a +minute, and there'll be something pulled off here! If I'm not +mistaken, this drama is going to shift to a comedy in about one +minute." + +"I don't understand what you mean by that," Jule declared. "What new +deviltry are those fellows planning?" he added. + +"In just about a second you'll see," Clay repeated. "The only wonder +is that Captain Joe hasn't pulled off his stunt before this." + +"Captain Joe isn't here," replied Jule doubtfully. + +Then the boat swayed frightfully, tipping toward the pier. There was a +heavy thud on deck, and cries of fright and pain, followed by another +thud. + +"Captain Joe isn't here, eh?" shouted Clay unlocking and opening the +door. "Just look at that mess out there." + +The white bulldog was mixing freely with the intruders, who seemed to +be devoting their best energy to getting off the boat. There was a +struggling, cursing, growling mass in the middle of the deck, and then +from the roof of the cabin leaped another combatant! + +Seeing the dog mixing with the pirates, and evidently believing that +some new game was in progress, the cub leaped fairly into the midst of +the struggling mass! If the men had been frightened before, they were +now wild with terror. It seemed to them as if the bear had dropped +from the clouds. They felt his teeth and claws, and the rough hair of +him appeared to bristle like the quills of a porcupine. + +Frightened beyond all measure, rendered more desperate still by the +onrush of the boys from the cabin, the outlaws finally succeeded in +breaking away and springing to the pier. As they did so, they nearly +fell over Alex and Case who were making all haste to ascertain the +cause of the excitement on the _Rambler_. + +In a moment, however, they were up and away, clattering like +race-horses up the pier. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE CREW TAKES A TUMBLE + + +When Alex and Case reached the deck of the _Rambler_, they found Clay +and Jule leaning against the gunwale laughing hard enough to split +their sides. A searchlight in the latter's hand revealed Captain Joe +and Teddy standing by the cabin door, looking around as if inquiring +what it all meant. + +"Well," Alex said, producing his own searchlight, "if there's anything +funny going on here, you'd better be passing it round." + +"Where have you been?" demanded Clay the next moment. + +"Been?" repeated Alex. "We've been up in the air!" + +"That's no fairy tale, either," Case cut in. "We've been arrested, and +released, and attacked, and pommeled, and now we strike some kind of a +minstrel show. What's been going on?" + +"You've been arrested, have you?" laughed Jule, paying no attention to +the question. "Any old time you go away from this boat and don't get +into trouble, I'll wire the news back to Chicago. What did you get +pinched for, and how did you get away?" + +"We got pinched because of Max," replied Alex, "and we got out of it +because we came upon a white policeman. We escaped from Max's cronies +because Captain Joe butted in and chewed up a few. That's some dog, +that is." + +"And he came back here and helped you out, too, it seems," Case said. +"I should think he was some dog!" + +"And Teddy helped, too," Clay laughed. "We had a show here for a +little while that was worth the price of admission." + +"It didn't look funny to me," Jule protested. "I was scared stiff most +of the time." + +After Alex and Case had replaced a broken globe on the prow light, +told the story of their adventures, and explained that the chief of +police had requested the privilege of looking over the boat in the +morning, the boys moved the _Rambler_ to a slip farther down the river +and went to bed, Jule remaining on watch for the remainder of the +night. The day had been a busy one and they were all tired. + +Alex was out first in the morning, poking along the water front in the +canoe which Max had deserted. After a time Clay came out of the cabin +of the _Rambler_ and called to him. + +"Got a fish, Alex?" + +Alex shook his head. + +"The fish won't bite my hook this morning!" he shouted back. + +"Well," Clay returned, "there's a gudgeon up on shore that evidently +wants to get hold of your hook, and you with it." + +Alex turned quickly and looked up the slip at the foot of which the +canoe lay. He was just in time to see Max and another boy about his +size disappearing behind a collection of goods' boxes. + +"Why didn't you shoot him?" Alex called out to Clay. "You saw him +first. He ought to be shot for what he did last night." + +Captain Joe now came out on the deck, yawning and stretching, and +elevated his fore feet to the gunwale of the boat. Clay patted him on +the head and pointed to the goods' boxes behind which Max had +disappeared. + +"Do you think, Captain Joe," he said to the dog, "that you could go +and get a wharf rat this morning? I think there's one behind that pile +of boxes. You better go and see, anyway." + +Of course the dog did not understand all that was said to +him--although the boys sometimes insisted that he did--but he did know +what the pointing finger meant. He was over the gunwale in an instant, +tearing up the side of the slip, barking and growling as he went. + +"You'll get that dog killed yet," Alex called out to Clay. "That wharf +rat of a Max is just like a snake. You don't want to get near him +unless you step squarely on his head." + +Both boys whistled return orders to the dog, but he would not come +back. He seemed to remember that an old enemy was near at hand and +turned the corner of the heap of boxes with a vicious snarl. + +The next moment, Max appeared at the top of the heap, fending off the +dog with a board he had ripped from a box. + +"Call off your dog!" he shouted. "I want to get my canoe. You get out +of it, kid, and leave it tied to the slip." + +"If you live long enough to see me give you this canoe," Alex laughed, +"you'll be older than Noah before you die, and have whiskers forty +feet long." + +"I'll set the police on you!" threatened Max. + +"You tried that last night," grinned Alex. + +"Come on down here," urged Clay. "I'd like to know what kind of a +penitentiary you received your early education in." + +"You'd like to have me come down there, wouldn't you?" sneered Max. +"You think you've got the police on your side, don't you? But I know a +couple of detectives that will fix you, all right. You needn't think +I'm going to let you run away with my canoe." + +"How'd you get up the river so quickly?" asked Clay. "Did you dive in +east of the peninsula and swim under water to Quebec?" + +"Oh, I got up on a steamer, all right," was the reply, "and I've been +here waiting for you ever since." + +"Do you happen to have a sore head this morning?" taunted Alex. "You +must have got a bump or two last night." + +"You'll get two for every one I got," Max shouted, angrily. "Are you +going to give me that canoe? I'm going to have it, you know." + +Alex deliberately paddled the canoe over to the _Rambler_, secured it +with a light line, climbed to the deck, and set the motors in motion. +Max yelled out a few threatening sentences and disappeared. + +"We may as well be going up to the old pier," he said, "for this dandy +chief of police I discovered last night will be down to see us before +long. He's a right good fellow, that chief is." + +"You better hold up a minute," Jule announced, + +"Captain Joe is still behind those boxes. If Max could capture him, +he'd have him in all the dog fights in Quebec." + +But Max was at this time taking to his heels up the street which ran +down to the slip; and Captain Joe soon made his appearance, looking +very much discouraged. He was taken on board, dripping with water, and +Teddy received quite a bath by approaching him too suddenly. The +bulldog enjoyed that. + +The chief of police made his appearance soon after the boys had +partaken of breakfast, and sat down to talk over the events of the +preceding night. + +"This boy, Max," he explained, "is one of the queerest customers we +have anything to do with. He lives in the streets, apparently without +money or friends, and yet he frequently appears at a swell hotel +handsomely dressed and with plenty of money in his pockets. He seems +to have been well educated, as you have probably noticed from his +conversation." + +"He talks like a graduate," admitted Clay. + +"Yes, and he's one of the sharpest little chaps in the city. We are +certain that he has had a hand in several bold robberies, yet it has +up to this time been impossible to convict him. He is usually defended +by first-class criminal lawyers, and his wharf rat companions seem to +be very desirable witnesses for him." + +"Isn't it possible," asked Clay, "that the boy lives along the river +front for some well defined, perhaps criminal, purpose of his own?" + +"I've often thought of that," answered the chief, "for he always takes +great pains to make friends of the creatures of the underworld. Now +and then he disappears from the city for a few days, or weeks, but +always comes back to his old haunts." + +"Of course," Clay said, "you are familiar with the Fontenelle land +claim and the story of the lost charter and the missing family +jewels?" + +"Oh, yes," answered the chief, smiling tolerantly, "every man, woman +and child in Quebec knows all about the Fontenelle case. Old man +Fontenelle is almost a monomaniac on the subject of the lost charter. +He has spent thousands of dollars searching for it and claims that he +would have discovered it long ago only for the active and criminal +opposition of men who might lose heavily if it came again into his +possession." + +"And the story of the lost channel?" asked Clay. + +"There is a queer story of a lost channel," the chief laughed, "but +I'm afraid that it will always be a lost channel." + +"But Fontenelle is continually trying to locate it," suggested Clay. + +"Yes, but he has no more idea where to look for it than a child in a +cradle. There is a place down the river where he thinks it might once +have existed, but he has no clews of any kind." + +"Hasn't even a map?" asked Clay, resolved to know exactly, as far as +possible, what knowledge the Fontenelles had of the lost channel. + +"No, not even a map," answered the chief. "I tell you that the family +has absolutely nothing to go by. Young Fontenelle, who is making most +of the searches now, only goes out to please his father and to give +his friends a pleasant summer vacation." + +And so the crude map which had been so mysteriously delivered to the +boys was an entirely new element in the case! Who had drawn it, who +had connived at its delivery, who had supplied the information buried +in the legends of more than three hundred years! + +Clay puzzled over the matter while the chief chatted with the other +boys, but could reach no conclusion. Again he was tempted to reveal to +an outsider the existence of the map, and again he forced himself to +silence when the words were almost on his lips. + +"I shall be laughed at if I say anything about the map," he mused. +"The chief will tell me that many a joke has been played on the +Fontenelles, and that this was intended to be another. He will tell me +that the _Rambler_ was mistaken for the _Cartier_, and that there is +no mystery, but only fraud, connected with either one of the messages +we received that night." + +"You spoke of the Fontenelle claim in connection with the strange +conduct of this boy Max," the chief finally said to Clay. "Why did you +do that? Can you see any possible connection between the two?" + +Then Clay told of the boy's appearance on the _Rambler_, referring +also to the fact that he had been accompanied, apparently, by men who +sought to seize the _Rambler_ after it had been beached. + +"And Fontenelle claims that these men were not river pirates at all," +Clay went on, "but says they are ruffians sent out to prevent his +making a thorough search of the district where his father believes the +lost channel to have been. In that case, this boy Max might in some +way be connected with the enemies of the Fontenelles." + +"That is very true," answered the chief, "and I'll keep my eye on him +after this, although I don't take much stock in this lost charter +business, at all." + +After a pleasant hour the chief shook hands with the boys and +departed. Then the _Rambler_ was headed upstream again. The boys had +had enough of Quebec during that one night. + +Thirty miles or more up the St. Lawrence from Quebec, the Jacques +Cartier river enters the St. Lawrence from the north. The boys sighted +the mouth of the stream just before twelve o'clock. At the same moment +they saw a river steamer coming down toward them. The steamer was +large for one plying above Quebec, and, fearing that the wash from her +propeller would make trouble for the _Rambler_, they edged over to the +mouth of the entering stream, in front of which lay a great, partly +submerged sand bar. + +The steamer came down, whistling and ringing, and the boys signaled +for her to pass off to the right. Apparently scornful of so small a +craft, the pilot kept her headed directly down stream in a course +which would have brought about a collision with the motor boat. + +The boys swung away toward the sand bar, trusting to good luck to keep +them clear of it. + +Just as she came opposite the bar, the helmsman of the steamer did +what he should have done before, turned the prow sharply to the south. +A wall of water from the stern of the boat came sweeping down upon the +_Rambler_. + +It caught her broadside, and in an instant she was beached high and +dry on the bar, lying with her keel exposed and the furniture and +fixtures in the cabin and store rooms rattling about like hailstones +in a blizzard. + +Tumbling heels over head, catching at the gunwale, scrambling away so +as to be beyond reach of the boat if she should go over farther, the +four boys, the bulldog and the bear brought up on the hot, dry sand. + +Alex sat up, brushed the sand from his eyes, felt tenderly of a peeled +nose, and shook his fist at the departing steamer. + +"You might come back here and pull us off," he shouted. + +The people on the steamer gathered at the rail for a moment to laugh +and joke at the plight in which they had left the boys, and then +evidently forgot all about it. + +"Now, what do you think of that?" cried Jule. "We're thrown out of +water for the first time in the history of the _Rambler_. Do you +suppose she's busted up much, Clay?" + +"Aw, you couldn't bust her up with a cannon," shouted Alex. "We've +probably lost some provisions, but this river will feed us all right." + +As for Teddy and Captain Joe, they turned astonished eyes at the boat +which they had never seen in exactly that position before and started +to clamber back on board. Teddy shambled clumsily up on deck, but +Captain Joe, evidently changing his mind, returned to the hot sand and +lay down. + +In a moment a great crash came from on board the motor boat. Then +Teddy came rolling down the incline of the deck hugging close to his +breast with two capable paws, and taking many a bump in order that he +might save his burden, a two quart can of strained honey. + +"That stream," Alex said, "will be just about large enough to clean up +the bear after he has finished with that stolen honey." + +"That ain't no stream," said Jule, "That's the lost channel." + +Teddy ran away to a distant part of the bar to eat his honey in peace, +and the boys ruefully watched the river in hope of rescue. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +RIVERMEN WITH A THIRST + + +"A lost channel and a lost boat! Still if we didn't have adventures +just like this, we'd be contented to remain on the South Branch in +Chicago," said Case. "It wouldn't have been any fun if we had passed +up the St. Lawrence without getting dumped on the sand." + +"Say, kid," Jule said, pointing to Alex, "do you think you can swim +over to the shore?" + +"Swim over yourself!" advised Alex. "What do you want me to swim over +for?" + +"To get timber to block up this boat so you can cook dinner," laughed +Jule. "We can't live on the sand which is here--that's a pun, eh?" + +"What have we got for dinner?" Clay asked, ignoring the pun. "Perhaps +I'd better go aboard and look over our larder." + +"If you want to know where I'm going to get my dinner," Alex observed, +"just look down into the river. Those fish look pretty good to me, and +I'm hungry enough to eat a whale." + +"If the time ever comes when you're not hungry," Case cut in, "the sun +will rise in the west. You're empty to your heels." + +"And I'm glad of it, too," Alex shouted back. "But what I want to +know," he continued, "is how we're ever going to get off this bar." + +"If we stay right here," Case advised, "some boat will come along and +pull us off. You don't have to do anything unless you want to." + +But at that moment there were no boats in sight. Instead, a great raft +of hewn timbers with a rough shanty in the middle of it came drifting +down. Half a dozen river men ran to the edge of the float and eyed the +_Rambler_ keenly. They seemed amused at what had happened. + +"Ship ahoy!" one of them called. + +"Give us a rope," Jule shouted. + +"Got anything on board?" the man called back. + +"What do you mean by anything?" Jule asked. + +"Oh, anything under a cork!" answered the other. + +"Row over here with a couple of cases and we'll pay you for them," +said another voice. + +"What do you take this for, a floating saloon?" asked Alex. + +"That's what!" came back over the water. "If you don't send over +something, we'll come and get it." + +"Now that's a nice proposition," Case said to Clay. "Here we get +turned almost bottom-side up on a sand bar, and a lot of wops think +we're bartenders and have whiskey to sell." + +"We ought not to let them on the bar at all," Alex advised. "If they +get here and can't find what they want, they're liable to take +anything they can get their hands on. I'm for pulling out the guns and +spattering a little lead over the water." + +"Are you going to send it over?" called the man from the raft. + +"Go take a drink out of the river!" advised Jule. + +"I'll show you whether we will or not!" + +All this time the raft had been drifting down stream, and the +_Rambler_ had, of course, remained stationary. As the man uttered this +implied threat, he cast off the line of a boat, motioned to two men +who stood near, and the three entered and began rowing toward the sand +bar. + +"We'll overtake you in a half an hour," the man who had done most of +the talking from the raft called out to his companions, "and we'll +bring back something cheering if it is to be had on that boat." + +"About the only thing you'll get on this boat," Case shouted, "will be +bullets. If you don't sheer away, you'll get a volley right now." + +The men stopped rowing and backed water as the boys drew their +automatics and stood in a row at the edge of the bar. + +"Aw, come on kids, give us a couple of cases and we'll go on our way. +We're going to get it anyhow." + +"There isn't a drop of intoxicating liquor on board," Clay assured the +man. "This is not a bumboat. We're just boys out on a pleasure trip." + +"That's what they all say!" roared a husky brute from the fast +disappearing raft. "Go on, Steve, and get the goods." + +"You bet I will!" answered the raftsman, and again the men bent to +their oars. Clay fired a warning shot and the boat paused again for a +moment. + +"Will you send us a case?" shouted the leader of the boat party. + +"Send you a case of cartridges!" laughed Alex. + +Two of the men now turned to the oars in order to keep the boat from +drifting farther down, while the leader sat close to their seat, +saying something to them in a low tone. The two oarsmen were shaking +their heads, but the other was beating one hand against the other +vigorously. + +"I know," the boys heard him say, raising his voice as he became +excited "that that is the same boat, and that these are the same boys. +You remember what I told you when I came up the river on a fast boat +and hired out on the raft!" + +The boys could not hear the reply, but presently the leader's voice +sounded again above the wash of the river. He was evidently under +great excitement, and was speaking rapidly and vehemently. + +"There is more value in that motor boat," he said, "than there is in +the whole raft. What does it matter if the timber does float down +without us? We've got a boat and can put up any old yarn that comes to +mind." + +The rowers still seemed to object to the plan the leader seemed to be +urging, and finally the boat was allowed to drift down with the +current. + +"This old world is a pretty small place after all," Clay remarked as +the stern of the rowboat disappeared around a little bend. "If you +don't believe it, just consider the events of this trip. We meet Max +on the river and he laps over on us at Quebec. We meet outlaws on a +rocky island three hundred miles away, and they show themselves at the +mouth of the Jacques Cartier river." + +"And we're likely to meet them again, unless I'm very much mistaken," +Case warned. "I don't believe they went down after the raft at all." + +"What was that you said about swimming over to the shore?" asked Alex. + +"To get a fish for dinner," Jule cried. + +Alex dashed into the cabin, tumbled about in the wreckage for a short +time, and came out clad only in a bathing suit. + +"I'm going to swim to shore all right," he said, "but I'm not going +over there to get a fish for dinner." + +"If you see one, catch him by the tail," Case shouted as the boy +entered the water. + +Alex wrinkled a bruised nose in the direction of the sand bar and +dived under, to reappear on the shore line a couple of seconds later. + +"Now, what do you think that little monkey is after?" asked Jule. + +Captain Joe and Teddy seemed to be asking themselves the same +question. At any rate, they decided to go and see, and both were soon +in the water. The boys saw Alex race up a sandy bluff and disappear in +a thicket. + +Here and there on the other side of the river were scattered houses, +but he seemed to pay no attention to these. The animals trotted after +him and soon all were out of sight. The boy was gone only a short time +and when he returned on board and dressed his face looked anxious. + +"Do you know," he said, "those fellows never went down the river at +all. They dropped down under the bend and landed. If we don't get off +this sand bar this afternoon, we'll have to sit up all night waiting +for trouble." + +"Then we'll get off this afternoon," Case observed. "I'm so +constituted that I have to have my sleep regularly." + +"Keep me awake nights if you want to," laughed Alex, "but don't let me +go hungry! I was reared a pet and can't stand it." + +There were now various crafts in sight on the river, but none came +near the bar. Signals made by the boys met with no response. + +"They are a suspicious lot of fellows," Clay decided. + +After several vessels had passed without paying any attention to the +shouts and signals of the boys, they gave up trying to secure +immediate assistance and devoted themselves to the preparation of +dinner--to the great joy of Captain and the eminent disgust of Teddy, +the cub, who had certainly eaten too much honey. + +The cabin was indeed in bad shape, standing at an angle of about +thirty degrees. Many of the dishes were broken, and some of the food +which had been cooked in the morning lay in a messy heap on the floor. + +However, the boys managed to boil coffee and cook eggs, and so, with +bread and butter and canned food, they made a very good meal. + +"Now, what are we going to do?" asked Jule. "We can never get this +boat off alone, and the vessels on the river won't help us." + +"I wonder if the tide doesn't come up here?" asked Clay. + +"If it does, it was not far from high tide when we struck the sand +bar," Jule replied, "and the situation will grow worse instead of +better." + +"Let's get out our shovels and dig a canal to the river," Case +suggested. "We can't play any Robinson Crusoe stunt here very long." + +"And the bold, bad men from the raft will be down on us to-night if we +stay," Alex added, "so I'm for doing anything to get off the bar." + +The boys were actually preparing to dig a trench across the bar when a +steamer to which they called more as a matter of form than with any +expectation of receiving assistance, turned toward their side of the +river and slowed down. + +"Hello, there, boys," came a voice from the bridge. "You must have +been having a head-on collision with a sand bar." + +"Why," Clay exclaimed, "that's Captain Morgan! What was it I was +saying about this being a pretty small world?" + +"Right you are, Captain," called Case. "We're up against it all right. +Can you send us a line?" + +"Certainly," answered the captain. "I'll have you out of that in no +time." + +And he did! The line was sent in a rowboat, attached to the prow of +the _Rambler_ and slowly, steadily, so as not to strain the timbers or +produce cracks in the hull, the motor boat was drawn from her +uncomfortable position, practically uninjured. Clay was soon grasping +the captain by the hand. The other boys shouted their greetings and +remained on board to tidy up the _Rambler_. + +"Young man," Captain Morgan said, "if I had a hundred boys, and the +whole mess of them, combined and individual, got into as many scrapes +as you four kids do, I'd keep them under lock and key!" + +"You'd miss a lot of fun if you did," said Clay. + +"When you get a hold of a nice, choice mess of boys, like the +_Rambler_ crew, you want to give them plenty of room and fresh air. +They'll come out all right!" + +"You do, at any rate," admitted the captain. "Let's see," he added, +"what was it you were going to find when I left you? A lost channel or +something like that? You didn't find it, did you?" + +"We found a scrap, and a lot of ruffians, and a friend," Clay replied, +"and that's all we did find, but we haven't given it up." + +"And that's all you ever will find," declared the captain. "There may +be a lost channel somewhere in the world. In fact, there is one on the +New York side up near the big lake, but I'm afraid you are wasting +your time. Why don't you come on down the river with me?" + +"That would never do," Clay replied. "When we left the delta of the +Mississippi, we promised ourselves that we would look over every inch +of the St. Lawrence, and we're going to do it. We're going to Lake +Ontario and then back to find the lost channel. And after that, we're +going to return to Ogdensburg and ship the _Rambler_ to little old +Chicago. That is, unless we decide to sail up the lakes." + +"Well, good luck to you," said Captain Morgan, as Clay passed down the +side of the _Sybil_. "If I get tangled up with a lost channel +anywhere, I'll send it to you by parcel post. Why, you boys can make a +lost channel easier than you can find one." + +"But it wouldn't be half so much fun," Clay said, stepping into the +rowboat. "We're having lots of sport on the St. Lawrence all the +same!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A MEETING AT MONTREAL + + +As Clay was being rowed back to the _Rambler_, one of the sailors +called his attention to three men standing on the shore of the river +not far away from the intersecting stream. They stood looking down at +the _Rambler_ for a short time, and then disappeared around the angle +of a bluff. + +"Perhaps those men want to be taken off," suggested the sailor. + +"They need their heads taken off," Clay observed. "I am certain from +what I overheard that one of the men was with the outlaws down the +stream. They left a timber raft here, as I believe, for the sole +purpose of attacking us in the night and trying to get our motor boat +away from us." + +"I should imagine from the build of the boat," the other observed, +"that they would have to do some pretty fast traveling if they caught +the _Rambler_ now that she is free. She must be a speedy boat." + +"She certainly is," Clay replied. "She's built like an ocean-going +tug." + +After Clay landed on deck the boys held what they called a council of +war. They were not exactly looking for trouble, still they did not +like the idea of sailing off upstream and leaving the outlaws +unpunished. + +"They bunted into us," Alex insisted, "and we ought to do something to +them. If they take their boat and row down after the timber raft, I'd +like to follow them in the _Rambler_ and tip them over." + +The others felt in about the same way, but it was finally decided to +go on up the river to Montreal, remain there for a couple of days, and +so pass on to the great lakes. + +"If we can keep Alex in the boat at Montreal, we'll be doing a good +job," Jule said. "He's been lost in about every city we've come to, +and I think he ought to be locked in the cabin just as soon as we +touch the pier. It isn't safe to turn him loose at night." + +"All right," Alex agreed, "you may lock me up any old night when I +want to sleep. That will keep me from standing guard." + +The boys anchored in a cove that night, well out of the wash of +passing steamers, and in the middle of the following afternoon, saw +the spires of Montreal. They gazed at the great mountainous bluff +which lies above and beyond the city with wondering eyes. There +battles had been lost and won. The flags of France and Great Britain +had in turn floated over the city from the heights they saw. + +The boys decided that night to spend the whole of the following day in +the historic city. They came to anchor in a slip some distance from +the town itself, and, for a wonder, passed an undisturbed night. + +Early the following morning Clay and Jule set out to view the sights, +it being understood that Alex and Case were to have their freedom in +the afternoon. At first the two boys kept to the river front, +examining the vessels they saw, and wondering if their fate would ever +lead them to all the countries the craft represented. + +As they turned away from the water front, Jule lifted his face and +sniffed the air enjoyably. + +"Do you know," he said, "this is the first place I've struck for +several days where the scent of the lost channel hasn't been in my +nostrils." + +"You've got so you can smell the lost channel now, have you?" grinned +Clay. "That may be a good thing for our future use." + +"I can't smell the channel," Jule replied, "but I can scent the danger +of it. Say, boy," he added, "We're going to have trouble when we go +back to dig up the Fontenelle charter." + +"We came out for adventure, didn't we?" asked Clay. + +"Oh, I'm not kicking," Jule exclaimed. "If I get mine, you'll get +yours, too. The only way to have any fun in this world is to go where +the fun is. You can't meet with adventures by staying in bed at home." + +As the boys proceeded up the street, an officer in uniform standing on +the corner beckoned to them. + +"Say, boys," he said, "do you know those two men just behind you?" + +The boys turned and looked back. + +There were many moving figures and faces in the street, but none which +attracted the especial attention of the lads. They looked inquiringly +at the policeman, who stood with a puzzled expression on his face. + +"Which two men?" asked Jule. + +"Why," replied the officer, "the two men who have followed you for the +last four blocks, stopping when you stopped and going on when you +advanced. I came up the street on the other side just behind you, and +couldn't help observing what was going on." + +"Now," said Clay, turning to Jule, "what do you think about having +lost the scent of the lost channel?" + +"I begin to smell it in the air right now," was the reply. + +The policeman looked at the two boys inquiringly. + +"What do you know about the lost channel?" he asked. + +"Not a thing!" replied Jule. "There isn't any lost channel." + +"Then I've been hearing a lot about nothing lately," smiled the +officer. "Somehow, the newspapers have been full of it lately." + +"Did they say anything about that scrap we had on an island below +Quebec?" asked Case. "We haven't seen a paper lately." + +"They said something about four boys being attacked, down the river, +and a great deal about a quest for a lost channel," replied the +policeman. + +"And about a scrap in Quebec?" asked Jule. + +"Sure," said the officer. "That made half a column. Are you boys from +the _Rambler_? If so, where is the boat?" + +"We're from the _Rambler_ all right," Clay replied, "and it looks as +if some of our friends from down stream are still after us. Can you +describe the men you saw following us? What do they look like?" + +"Just tough riverside characters," answered the officer. "That is how +I came to notice them closely. Such people are rarely seen as far up +in the city as this. They prefer the lower dives." + +"We had trouble with some men from a raft back here a little ways," +Jule explained, "and these may be the fellows. Anyway, we're going to +look out for ourselves and thank you very much for having called our +attention to the incident. We'll be careful." + +The policeman went down the street, swinging his club, and the boys +turned and faced each other with questions in their eyes. + +"What's coming off here?" Jule asked. + +"Seems to me like a game of tag," Clay replied. "From the moment we +left the deck of the _Sybil_, across the river from the egg-shaped +peninsula near St. Luce, we have been It. Some one has been after us +night and day. Now, what are we going to do about it?" + +"I could tell you better if we knew whether the men referred to by the +officers are the enemies of the Fontenelles or just plain river +pirates seeking to seize the _Rambler_. What do you think?" + +"So far as that is concerned," Clay replied, "it makes but little +difference. They all give us trouble, and I propose for once that we +run away from them. I'm more in love with the river than the men we're +likely to meet on it, so we'll get to the quiet spots." + +"Do you mean that we ought to go back to the _Rambler_ right now and +cut Montreal off our visiting list?" asked Jule. + +"In my judgment, that is what we ought to do." + +Jule faced about instantly and started toward the river. + +"Come on then!" he said. "I'm game for it!" + +The boy had turned under the impulse of the moment without sensing +that he was on a crowded pavement in the heart of a big city. As he +swung about, he almost bumped noses with a pedestrian who, in company +with another, had been walking only a couple of yards behind him. + +The man was clothed in the garb of a waterside character, but it was +very plain to the boy that the costume had been assumed for the +purpose of disguise. His complexion was smooth and clear, his eyes +keen and penetrating, and his whole manner and attitude proclaimed +education and native refinement. For an instant Jule and the man stood +looking each other squarely in the eyes. + +"Step aside, lad, step aside," said the disguised man, in a voice far +from unpleasant. "Don't be blocking the way." + +"Is this your street?" demanded Jule willing to continue the +conversation in order that he might have a more prolonged view of the +man opposite him. "If it is, you better take it with you when you go +on." + +The man Jule was watching so closely seemed to understand that he was +under suspicion, and, seizing his companion by the arm, the two passed +on together, turning their heads now and then to watch the progress of +the boys down the street. + +"Did you see that?" asked Jule as the boys stepped along. + +"Did I see what?" asked Clay. "I heard a voice, that's all!" + +"That was Sherlock Holmes in disguise. Did you catch on?" + +"Not than I am aware of!" laughed Clay. "What about it?" + +Jule explained what he had observed in the man against whom the +pressure of the crowd had brought him, and Clay agreed that the man he +had heard speak in a remarkably pleasant tone had not been following +them by accident. + +"Those two men," he said, "are the fellows the policeman referred to." + +"But why should men like those be following us?" asked Jule. "Why, he +looked like a banker, or a lawyer, or a preacher. And what did he have +that kind of a rig on for? It's mighty funny." + +"You may search me," Clay answered. "The incident only confirms the +opinion expressed not long ago that we ought to get out of this city +immediately. Alex and Case can take their outing in some other town." + +The boys walked swiftly down the street for a couple of blocks, turned +into a side thoroughfare, called a taxi, and were driven swiftly back +along a parallel street for two blocks. + +There they dismissed the cab, at the corner of the main street, and +walked along looking for the two men they suspected of hostile +intentions. + +In the middle of the first block they came upon them, walking slowly, +and peering to right and left, as if anxiously searching for some one. + +"That settles it!" Clay said. "We'll go back to the _Rambler_ and +disappear. Once we get started, there isn't a boat on the river that +can catch us. We'll fool these fellows for once." + +When the story of the morning had been told to Alex and Case, they +rather wanted to remain in the city, just "to get a line on the +fellows," as Alex explained, but they finally consented to an +immediate departure. + +That night the _Rambler_ lay at anchor at the mouth of a small creek +on the south side of the St. Lawrence river. Just above them lay a +wooded island, occupied at this time by a colony of vacationists. + +The _Rambler_ had fought her way through the canal, and now lay only a +short distance below the border of Lake St. Frances. + +The boys built a roaring fire on shore and cooked supper there, but +made no arrangements for sleeping out of doors. The blaze brought +several people from a little settlement not far away, and the boys +rather enjoyed their company. After a time Clay whispered to Jule: + +"Stick your nose up in the air, kid, and see if you can get a scent of +the lost channel in this crowd!" + +"Nothing doing!" Jule answered with a grin. + +"Now we'll see whether there is or not," Clay said. + +He turned to an elderly gentleman who sat by his side and asked: + +"I have heard that there is a lost channel on the American side just +this side of Lake Ontario. Is that true?" + +"Yes," said the man with a smile, "and I have heard that there is a +lost channel down below Quebec, too. And I read in the newspaper that +you boys were in search of it. Is that so?" + +Clay faced Jule with a smile on his face. + +"Whatever we do," he said, "we can't escape the lost channel." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +AN OLD FRIEND APPEARS + + +"How did this channel get lost?" Alex asked with a whimsical smile. + +"Well," replied the other, "I don't believe there is a lost channel. +You may go down the St. Lawrence river, up one side and down the +other--and I've been over every inch of it--and you can't find any +place for a lost channel, unless you locate it at a headland which was +once an island. In that case, there might be a lost channel. But the +charts of the river for two hundred years show no such change in +conformation." + +"That seems to be conclusive," Clay suggested. + +"Conclusive? Of course it is, but you can't make this man Fontenelle +believe it. Now, look here, stranger," he went on, "I've read what the +newspapers say about you, and I know that you intend to go back there +and look for that lost channel. Is that right?" + +"It seems to me that the newspapers are advertising us pretty +thoroughly," Clay observed. "Every one seems to know all about us." + +"Of course!" assented the older man. "You boys and your boat are about +as well known on this river, by reputation at least, as Lawyer Martin, +and he's been doing a heap of traveling up and down lately. Why, +Lawyer Martin was right here the very day the Quebec newspapers +printed the story that you boys were going to find the lost channel. +He read the story and jumped. + +"Yes, sir! He jumped like a man going to locate an oil claim. I rowed +him out to the first steamer that came along, and heard him offer the +captain a big wad of money if he would gain time on the trip to +Quebec." + +"Do you think the story about the lost channel had anything to do with +his sudden departure?" asked Clay. + +"Yes, sir. Yes, sir," was the reply. "He didn't tell me what he +suspected or feared, but he hurried away to find out what was going on +just the same. And he hurried away right soon." + +"Is he in any way interested in the Fontenelle charter?" asked Clay. + +"Interested?" repeated the other. "I should say he was! Why, he's the +lawyer for all of us fellows who will be turned off our farms if the +charter should be found and sustained." + +"I see," said Clay, "I see!" + +"Now," whispered Jule, giving Clay a nudge in the side, "we'll find +out who the disguised man was. It might have been this Lawyer Martin." + +"What kind of a looking man is Mr. Martin?" asked Clay. + +"Mighty nice looking fellow," was the reply. "Shows breeding and +culture all the way through, just like a thoroughbred horse shows what +he's got in him. His face is as white as a woman's and his eyes are as +clear as a girl's! + +"He neither drinks nor smokes, and he is about the best play actor you +ever saw on the stage. Put a river man's rig on him and he looks like +a river man. + +"Dress him up like a preacher, and you'd think he had the bible by +heart. He's been in our schoolhouse many a time on his trips here, +showing the boys and girls how to conduct a commencement exhibition. +Oh, he's mighty popular all along the river!" + +Another nudge and whisper from Jule. + +"Blonde or black?" the boy suggested. + +"I think I know the man," Clay went on, following the lead again. "He +has very black eyes, hasn't he? And a nose with a little hump on it, +and a wide, straight mouth and thin lips." + +"No, sir. No, sir," was the reply. "He's got light hair and blue eyes, +and a straight nose, and a mouth that isn't wide nor straight. Mighty +handsome man, is Lawyer Martin. We all like him up here!" + +"And you will lose your farm if this charter is found and sustained?" +asked Clay. "You and many of your neighbors?" + +"That's what they say," replied the other, "though, of course, it will +depend upon what young Fontenelle says about it." + +"The courts might not sustain the charter," suggested Clay. + +"Oh well, we're not worrying about it," was the reply. "We're leaving +the whole case to Lawyer Martin." + +As the night advanced the residents left the campfire and returned to +their homes, while the boys sought their bunks on board the _Rambler_. + +"What was it some one said about a small world?" asked Clay. "Who was +it that said that a face once seen was sure to cross our paths in +future years? Was it the same man who said that a note of music once +struck revolves around the earth for countless millions of years, +never ceasing, never reaching mortal ears, but making its way through +space forever?" + +"Hold on!" Alex cried. "Come down from the stars if you want to talk +to us." + +"Well," Clay went on, "every person we have met at our stopping-places +has been seen or heard of at the next stopping-place. We meet a +disguised man on the street at Montreal. We come to a campfire by the +riverside, miles above the city, to learn why he was disguised, and +why he was following us. As we have said several times lately, this is +a pretty small world. The man you meet to-day may walk in your path +forever!" + +The boys were astir early in the morning. They cooked breakfast on the +shore, watched by inquisitive boys and girls, and then proceeded +upstream. They passed beautiful Lake St. Frances long before noon, and +just as night fell tied up at a lower pier at Ogdensburg. As soon as +supper had been eaten, Alex and Captain Joe started away together. + +"Here, where are you boys going?" asked Clay. "I say boys because +Captain Joe has more sense than Alex," he added, turning to the +others. "At least Captain Joe doesn't get lost very often." + +"Right over here on the river front," Alex replied, "is where the +Rutland Transit Company boats dock. Those boats are fresh from +Chicago, and I'm going over to see if I can get a drink of Lake +Michigan water!" + +"If you go over there with that dog," Case declared, "the sailors will +steal him. That dog is about as well known in Chicago as Carter H. +Harrison. He's had his picture in every one of the Chicago +newspapers." + +"All right," replied Alex. "If they catch him and take him back to +Chicago, they'll have to take me with him." + +The boy took his departure, accompanied by the dog, and the others sat +down to a quiet evening in the cabin. They had had several pleasant +days and many thrilling adventures on the St. Lawrence river. + +There remained now only about a hundred miles of travel, Lake Ontario +being only that distance away. But included in that hundred miles were +all the beautiful islands, great and small, which have made the St. +Lawrence river famous. + +The pleasantest part of their trip was yet to come. + +While the boys lay in the cabin, with the lights all out as usual, a +heavy step sounded on the deck, and there came a sharp rap at the +cabin door. The boys sprang out of their bunks instantly. + +"What's coming off now?" whispered Jule. "Anyway, this fellow has more +manners than our other night visitors." + +Clay stepped to the door, searchlight in hand, and turned a circle of +flame on the face of the newcomer. Then he dropped the electric and +sprang forward. The boys were getting ready with their automatics when +they heard his voice speaking in great excitement. + +"Captain Joe!" he cried. "Captain Joe! Where the dickens did you come +from? What are you doing at Ogdensburg?" + +"I might ask the same question of you," replied the hearty old +ex-captain. "To tell you the truth, lad," he went on, "I've been so +lonesome ever since you boys left the South Branch that I've done +quite a lot of traveling, for an old man. Several times I've been +almost up with you but you always got away." + +"You never came all the way up here to visit us?" asked Case. + +"To be honest about it, boys," the ex-captain replied, "I just did +that very thing. I've got a friend who is captain of the Rutland boat +which arrived this evening, and I came on with him. Mighty fine trip +we had, too. And how are you all, and where is Alex and my namesake?" + +"You wouldn't know Captain Joe," laughed Clay. "He's got to be the +biggest, fiercest, wisest, pluckiest bulldog in the world." + +"And Teddy bear! You remember him of course," Jule put in. "He ate up +two pirates down the river, body and bones, and is so fat that we have +to help him out of bed. Great bear, that!" + +"Boys, boys," warned Captain Joe. "Don't exaggerate. I've always told +you not to exaggerate. Do you think Captain Joe will know me?" + +"Of course he will," said Case. "Captain Joe never forgets a friend." + +"And now that you are here," Clay put in, "you are going to remain +with us while we go back down the St. Lawrence to St. Luce and return +here. Then we'll either ship the boat to Chicago or take her slowly up +the lakes. Won't that be a fine old trip?" + +"It listens pretty good to me," Captain Joe answered. "To be honest +with you, boys," he continued, "I've been wanting a trip on the +_Rambler_, but I never felt like getting away until now." + +"You sailed on the St. Lawrence once a good many years ago, didn't +you, Captain Joe?" asked Jule. + +"Did I?" asked Captain Joe extending his stubby forefinger by way of +emphasis. "Did I sail on the St. Lawrence river? Boys, I know every +inch of it, up one side and down the other and through the middle." + +"Then you'll be a great help to us," Clay suggested. + +"Oh, you boys don't need any help navigating a boat on any river," +Captain Joe asserted. "You boys are all right! But I was going to tell +you about the St. Lawrence river." + +"A few years ago, there wasn't an eddy, nor a swirl, nor an island, +nor a channel, on the whole stream from Wolfe island to the waters of +the Atlantic that I didn't know all about. I've sailed her night and +day and I could take a ship down the rapids now. Only the government +won't give me a license because I can read and write," he added in a +sarcastic tone. + +"Well, Captain Joe, you're just the identical man we've been looking +for," cried Clay. "Several hundred years ago an old Frenchman by the +name of Cartier mislaid a channel down the river. Now we want you to +help us find that channel!" + +"Oh, you want to find a channel, do you?" laughed Captain Joe. "Well, +now, I'll tell you, boys, if that channel has been open at any time +within the past hundred years, I can find it. Of course I wasn't on +the river as long ago as that, but my old dad was, and he taught me to +read the St. Lawrence like a boy reads the stories of Captain Kidd." + +"That is fine!" the boys exclaimed in a breath. + +Then Clay laughed and nudged his companions and said: + +"Captain Joe, did you ever hear anybody say that this is a mighty +small world? If so, do you think it's true?" + +"It is bigger than I have ever been able to get over," replied Captain +Joe, not understanding. "I've seen quite a lot of it, but not all." + +Then Clay told the captain of their adventures on the St. Lawrence, +showing him the two mysterious communications, with the understanding +that he was never to mention their existence to any one. + +"And so there really is a lost channel?" asked Captain Joe. + +"You bet there is! There is more than one lost channel. Go bite him +doggie!" + +The voice came from the doorway, and the next moment, Alex and Captain +Joe, the bulldog, came tumbling into the room. + +"Say, my namesake is getting to be some dog," shouted the Captain, +after the greetings were over. "He's big enough to find a lost channel +anywhere. And he looks fierce enough, too." + +"He's always perfectly willing to do his share of the looking," Alex +grinned. "And we're perfectly willing to give him a chance to help." + +"Then I'll take him into partnership," Captain Joe, the man, said, +"and we'll go out hunting for what you seek. If there is a lost +channel anywhere it will go hard if we don't find it!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THROUGH THE FAMOUS RAPIDS + + +A special bunk, the softest and springiest that could be made, was +fitted up for Captain Joe in the cabin that night. The old fellow so +enjoyed visiting with the boys that it was late before they went to +sleep, and so the sun was well up when they left their beds in the +morning. + +"Now," Clay said, after all had indulged in a short swim in the river, +"we're going to celebrate the arrival of Captain Joe by one of Alex's +beefsteak breakfasts at a restaurant. Captain Joe has traveled so far +to see us that we're not going to take any chances on having him +poisoned by Case's cooking." + +"Now look here, boys," Captain Joe remonstrated, "I've had a good many +restaurant meals along the South Branch since you boys deserted me, +and a chef has been cooking for me on the Rutland boat, so I propose +that we get breakfast right here, on the _Rambler_. It will be a +novelty for me, anyway." + +"What would you like, Captain?" asked Alex. + +"Well," said Captain Joe almost smacking his lips, "you know the kind +of pancakes they serve at the Bismark, Chicago? They're half an inch +thick, you know, and as large as the bottom of a milk pan. Cost a +quarter apiece, and a fellow doesn't want anything more to eat all +day! Now, you go ahead and make pancakes like we used to get at the +Bismark." + +"And eggs, and ham, and beans, and coffee, and fried potatoes, and +canned peaches?" asked Case. "We're sure going to celebrate, Captain +Joe." + +"Well boys," said the old captain, "if you want to go and make +provision tanks of yourselves, you can do it, but for my part, I'm +going to be careful in my eating, as I'm getting old! Just rig me up a +simple little meal consisting of eight or ten of those twenty-five +cent pancakes and half a dozen eggs and three or four cups of coffee, +and I'll try to worry through the day." + +"I don't see how you can get along with anything less than a dozen +pancakes and a gallon of coffee," laughed Clay, "and I'll go on shore +and buy a box of the finest cigars to be had in Ogdensburg." + +Captain Joe held up a warning finger. + +"Now look here, boys," he said, "you know how I used to pull away at +that dirty old pipe on the South Branch. I used to be ashamed of +myself, smoking up your quarters, so after you left I quit the weed +entirely. I haven't smoked a pipe or cigar for a long time," he added, +proudly. + +And so the breakfast was prepared as Captain Joe directed. The boys +set out what little honey Teddy hadn't succeeded in getting hold of, +and the pancakes were greatly enjoyed. But the Captain didn't finish +his stunt. + +"You boys are mighty good to an old man like me," he said. + +"Mighty good!" repeated Clay. "Don't you remember when some sneak +stole all the money we had been saving for a year to take us on the +Amazon trip? Don't you remember how we hustled and got a little more +together, and how you were afraid we wouldn't have enough, and might +go broke in the Andes, and you took two hundred dollars and put it in +a packet and told us to open it when we got into trouble? There is +nothing on this boat you can't have, Captain Joe." + +"Well," said the old man, "I didn't need the money, and, besides, I +got it back. It didn't cost me anything to lend it." + +"We needed it, though," grinned Alex, "and we might have been back +there yet if we hadn't had it. You're the luckiest man I know of or it +would never have been returned. And we were lucky, too." + +"And now, if you don't mind," said Captain Joe, "we'll cut all this +talk out. I'm going to stay with you boys just as long as you'll let +me, and I don't want to hear any more talk about that consarned two +hundred dollars. I've heard too much already." + +"We think of it every time we see the white bulldog," laughed Case. + +"By the way," said the Captain, "I've got that two hundred dollars in +my jeans this minute, and if you should happen to want any of it just +let me know. I really don't know what to do with it." + +"Pigs will be flying when we use any more of your money, Captain Joe," +Alex smiled. "We've got plenty of our own." + +After breakfast, with Captain Joe at the helm, the boat was turned +toward the Great Lakes. It was seven o'clock when they left Ogdensburg +and at ten they were at Alexandria Bay. + +"Suppose we keep on the Canadian side going up," Captain Joe +suggested, "and then, when we come back, we can take the American +side." + +"Can you take the boat up and back without knocking off any of these +headlands?" asked Alex with a wink at the Captain. + +"Look here, young man," replied the Captain not at all offended, "I +was dipping the water into this river before you were born. I can take +this boat within an inch of every island and crag and headland between +here and Lake Ontario and never scrape off an ounce of paint. I've +sailed on the ocean, too, and all up and down the Great Lakes. This +St. Lawrence river was always like a little pet kitten to me." + +According to this suggestion, the captain left Alexandria Bay to the +south and proceeded over to the Canadian side. The boat was now just +starting in on its run through the famous Thousand Islands. + +Many times it seemed to the boys as if Captain Joe intended to run the +craft directly through some of the magnificent cottages located high +above the river, but always the boat turned just in time to keep in +foot-clear water. The boys stood leaning on the gunwale for hours +watching the splendid panorama of the river. + +There were islands rich with verdure; there were islets brown and +rocky, there were great level places hemmed in by the river where +magnificent summer residences showed against the beauty of the +landscape. + +Now and then summer tourists hailed the _Rambler_ from the river, and +occasionally girls and boys ran down the island piers to greet her +with the waving of flags. It was a glorious trip. + +Captain Joe explained many features of the stream as they passed up, +and as long as the boys lived they remembered the shimmer of the sun +on the island foliage, the white-fringed waves rumpled by the light +wind, and the voice of the kind old man telling them the experiences +of a life time. + +Just before sundown, after one of the pleasantest days they ever +experienced, the boys reached Kingston. Captain Joe seemed disinclined +to leave the boat that night, and so the boys spent three hours +wandering up and down the streets of the historic old city. Off to the +west lay the famous Bay of Quinte. Farther south was Sackett's Harbor, +while between the two lay Wolfe island, stuck into the mouth of the +St. Lawrence river like a great plug. The boys enjoyed the night +ramble immensely. + +"Now, Captain Joe," Clay said in the morning, "suppose we circle Wolfe +island, inspect the light house at Cape Vincent, and spend part of a +day at Sackett's Harbor? I don't know of any better way to spend the +next twelve hours than in making a trip like that." + +"Sackett's Harbor was a military point during the last war with Great +Britain," Jule said, "and I'd like to look over the town." + +"Nothing much doing there now in the way of guns and soldiers," +Captain Joe said, "but, as you say, it would pay you well to spend a +day on the waters in this vicinity. You may never have the chance +again." + +So the _Rambler_ headed for Cape Vincent, where they stopped long +enough to inspect the big light, first taking a view of Sackett's +Harbor. About noon, they came to Clayton, where they paused long +enough to inspect several groups of islands on the American side. + +Then, with Captain Joe still at the helm, the boat passed down to +Alexandria Bay where they tied up for the night. + +"To-morrow," Captain Joe said, as the boys made great inroads on the +Bismark pancakes stacked up on the table, "I'll take you through the +Lachine rapids. You'll find we'll have to go some." + +"You haven't got any government license!" laughed Alex. + +"No," said the old Captain, "I'm not an ignorant Indian. I can read +and write, and so I can't get a government license, but I'll tell you +what I can do. I can take this boat down the Lachine without getting a +drop of water on the deck." + +The Captain was a little bit inclined to tell what he had done and +what he could do, but his stories were all truthful and interesting, +so the boys rather enjoyed them, and the captain enjoyed talking. + +"You needn't think we're going to fly through the air on this trip," +Jule said winking at the Captain. "We're going to take about two days +to get down to the Lachine. We'll loaf along the river to-morrow, +making about one hundred miles, tie up for the night, and reach +Lachine in the afternoon of the day after. What do you think of that +for a program, boys?" he added, turning to Clay. + +"That's the way I figured it out," Clay answered. "There is no use in +being in a hurry. We've got all the time there is." + +Every person on the boat, except perhaps the dog and the bear, slept +soundly that night. There was no wind, and the little bay they were in +protected them from the wash of the steamers. When they awoke in the +morning the sun was rising round and red out of the river. + +That day was another one long to be remembered by every member of the +_Rambler_ party. They drifted, using the motors just enough to give +headway, fished in the clear water, and told stories of old days on +the South Branch--days long to be remembered by them all. + +That night partook of the character of the last one so far as sleep +and rest were concerned. The boat lay at a little pier not far from a +rural settlement. Early in the evening villagers came down attracted +by the clamor of the motors but soon returned to their homes. + +It was on that evening that Alex made his famous attempt to cook a +river fish a la Indian. There was something the matter with the fish, +or with the hot stones, or with the soil! At any rate, the white +bulldog and the bear cub got the supper the boy had sweated over for +an hour or more. + +Shortly after noon on the following day, the _Rambler_ came to the +head of the Lachine rapids, six miles above Montreal. + +Although the boys had every confidence in Captain Joe as a pilot, some +of them were inclined to think that his memory of the rapids might not +be as good as his skill. Many a time during that passage the grand and +lofty tumbling of the waters as they broke upon projecting rocks +seemed about to engulf the frail craft. + +Many a time the nose of the _Rambler_ seemed pointing directly at a +hidden rock which sent the river spouting into the air like the "blow" +of a great whale. Many a time the wayward current caught the prow and +twisted it about until it seemed as if the boat would never respond to +her rudder again. + +But the eyes of the captain were true, the arms of the old sailing man +were strong, and so the boat always came back to the course he had +mapped out for her. When at last the rapids were passed, the boys were +greatly relieved. + +During the excitement of the trip, little fear had been felt after the +first plunge, but now that it was over, they realized that they had +been in absolute peril. Almost with the momentum which had carried the +_Rambler_ down the Lachine, the boat came to a pier on the river front +at Montreal. Looking about, the boys saw that they were almost in the +location where they had tied up before. + +Clay sprang ashore, hastened to a telephone, talked eagerly for a few +moments and then returned to the _Rambler_. Captain Joe sat out on the +prow and the boy took a deck stool beside him. + +"Captain Joe," the boy asked, "what would have taken place if we had +run out of gasoline while navigating the rapids?" + +The captain eyed the boy with surprise showing on his weather-beaten +face. He poked Clay in the ribs before answering. + +"Why do you ask an old captain a foolish question like that?" he said. + +"I'm asking for information," was the reply. "Tell me what would have +happened. I really want to know." + +"Well," Captain Joe replied, scratching his chin meditatively, "if the +gasoline had given out in the rapids, just about this time there would +be a lot of boards bumping against the rocks, and a motor rusting in +the bottom of the river, and five human beings, a bulldog and a bear +floating out toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence." + +"That's just what I thought," Clay exclaimed. "That's just why I was +scared stiff when I found out that we were just about out of gasoline +as we struck the head of the rapids." + +"And you never said a word about it," asked the captain, "to any of +the boys? You kept it all to yourself?" + +"Huh," replied Clay, "where was the use in scaring the fellows out of +a year's growth. Didn't you notice my cap walking straight up into the +air? That was because my hair lifted it." + +"Boy, boy," expostulated Captain Joe, "don't lie to the old man. I +don't believe you were scared at all." + +"Well, anyway," replied Clay, "the tanks are empty, and there will be +a wagon down here pretty quick to fill them up. Now mind you, I'm not +going to say a word to the other boys about this. If I do, they'll +never get over roasting me. We should have taken on gasoline at +Kingston, but I forgot all about it." + +"Do you remember what you told me about this Lawyer Martin?" asked +Captain Joe. "He seems to be the lawyer leading the band of ruffians +who are trying to keep the lost channel lost forever!" + +"Yes," replied Clay, "and I was just going to speak about that. It was +in Montreal that we met him, disguised as a riverside character, and I +was wondering if it might not be well to go ashore and look him up." + +"Don't you ever think of doing that," Captain Joe replied. "You get +your gasoline and lay in additional pancake material and we'll go on +down the river to Cartier island. That's what they call that +peninsula, isn't it? Let me tell you this," the old man added, "if you +have anything more to do with this man Martin, you let him be the one +to do the looking up." + +"That's good sense, too," agreed Clay. "He might discover that we were +on our way back if we went up into the city. So we'll remain quiet +to-night and set out for Cartier island and the lost channel early +to-morrow morning." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A CALL FROM WRECKERS + + +Nothing occurred to disturb the slumbers of the _Rambler's_ crew that +night. The cool wind made the cabin of the boat comfortable, and the +street lights of Montreal winked down upon the craft with friendly +eyes. The afternoon of the following day found them at Quebec. + +"I've been thinking," Clay said as the boat tied up at the pier they +had occupied on the occasion of their former visit, "that we ought not +to keep this stolen canoe. Of course Max stole it." + +"Perhaps he'll come down here and claim it again," suggested Jule. + +"If he does," Alex exclaimed, "I'm going on shore to find him and get +even with him. He'd no business to bring that gang of wharf rats onto +us. I hope he's under arrest somewhere." + +"There's an idea!" suggested Case. "Suppose we telephone to the chief +of police and find out. We can leave the canoe in the care of the +chief, too, if we want to. He might be able to find the owner." + +"It seems to me," Captain Joe interrupted, "that you boys may as well +keep that canoe until we return to Quebec, on our way to the Great +Lakes. It will come in mighty handy when we're prowling around those +two rivers you've been talking about. The owner won't miss it for a +few days." + +"That's another good notion," Clay agreed. "We'll use the canoe and +return it when we get back. And now I'll go and telephone to the chief +of police and see if he has discovered anything additional about Max." + +Clay was gone only a short time. When he returned, he looked a trifle +anxious. When he spoke, it was in an excited tone. + +"Look here, boys," he said, "the chief of police advises to us to give +up that hunt for the lost channel. He says that Fontenelle has just +returned from Cartier island leaving a wrecked launch and a lot of +perfectly good stores stacked on the bottom of the river." + +"I had an idea," Captain Joe suggested, "that things would be moving +about the time we got down here. Why, do you know, boys," he went on, +"that this lost channel matter is creating about as much excitement in +Quebec province as the coronation of a new king ought to?" + +"The procession seemed to start about the time we struck the river," +Alex grinned, "and there's been music ever since we left St. Luce." + +"Yes," Clay went on, "and the newspapers have been printing feature +stories and describing the family jewels, and the lost channel, and +telling how many land-holders would be made homeless if the charter +should ever be found and sustained. The newspapers are always meddling +with our affairs." + +"You let the newspapers alone," advised Captain Joe. "They have +advertised you boys, and the _Rambler_, and the bulldog, and the bear, +from one end of this river to the other." + +"Well, what do you think about this advice given by the chief?" asked +Clay. "We ought to reach some conclusion immediately." + +"You came down here to find that lost channel, didn't you?" asked +Uncle Joe with a twinkle in his eyes. + +"We came down here to look for it," answered the boy. + +"Well, then," continued Captain Joe, "we'll go and look for it." + +"That's what I thought!" cried Case. + +"I wouldn't turn back now for a million!" yelled Alex. + +"Boys," smiled Captain Joe, "I never knew any one to get rich by +changing plans every time some fool friend advanced a contrary +opinion. When you make up your mind to do a thing, you go right on and +do it. Did you ever notice the bulldog when he gets into a scrap?" + +"I've seen him in several scraps," answered Clay. + +"Well," went on the captain, "when the bulldog gets into a fight, the +harder they chew him the tighter he hangs on, and that's about the way +all the money and reputations have been made in this combative world." + +"Oh, we hadn't any idea of turning back," Clay hastened to say. "I +only wanted to know what the others thought about it." + +"Well you found out pretty quick," laughed Jule. "Why, we've had four +or five days that we haven't had a fight, or seen a midnight prowler, +or been dumped on a sand bar, or experienced any other pleasant little +incident of that description. I was actually beginning to fear that +our river trip from this time on would be one long sweet dream." + +The boys passed another restful night and were up with the sun. The +first thing Alex did after bathing and dressing was to spring to the +pier and start off into the city. + +"Here, here!" cried Captain Joe. "We don't allow little boys to go +wandering off alone! If you've got to go, I'm going with you." + +"That's fine!" shouted Alex, capering about on his toes. "Come along, +and we'll take the old town to pieces to see what makes it tick." + +"I'm going uptown," Alex explained as they mounted one of the sidling +streets which led up from the river, "to buy a porterhouse steak that +weighs ten pounds. This will be our last chance." + +"Now," said Captain Joe mildly, "don't you think a porterhouse steak +weighing nine pounds and a half would be enough for our breakfast?" + +"But we ain't going to have this steak for breakfast," Alex protested. +"I'm going to put this steak in that cute little cold air refrigerator +of ours and when wet get down to Cartier island, I'm going to cook a +beefsteak a la brigand. If you eat a steak cooked in that way once, +you'll never want one cooked any other way. It's simply great!" + +"It's a new one on me," replied Captain Joe. + +"Oh, well," Alex said, "I'll show you all about cooking it when the +time comes. When we get back to the South Branch, you can have one +every day if you want it. We can get pretty good porterhouse in +Chicago." + +The two strolled through the city for a couple of hours, buying +vegetables, condensed milk, tinned goods, fresh fruit and meats. +Later, when the provisions were delivered to the _Rambler_ at the foot +of the pier, Case declared that Alex had spent money enough to take +them all over Europe. Alex was somewhat disappointed to think that he +had not encountered Max in the city, but did not inform his chums how +keenly he had watched for him. + +"What did the chief of police say about Max?" asked the boy as they +returned to the boat. "You forgot to say anything about that." + +"Sure I did," answered Clay. "Well, he said that Max had blossomed out +in a suit that must have cost a hundred, with a big roll of money in +his pocket. He said, too, that he had strutted around the city for a +few days and then suddenly disappeared. It is the opinion of the chief +that the boy, who is by no means as young as he looks, went down the +river to Cartier island." + +"I really hope he has," Alex blurted out, "I'll crack that boy's crust +if I ever come across him." + +"And you'll wash dishes, too," laughed Captain Joe. "Oh, I remember +how you boys used to fight against slang up on the South Branch." + +That night the boys anchored the _Rambler_ in a cove of good size just +south of Rivere du Loup. They were well away from the wash of the +steamers, and yet not near enough to the houses of the little railway +station to attract general attention. + +The night closed down cloudy and dark. The passing vessels on the +river seemed to burn holes in the darkness for only an instant and +then disappear. + +The sounds which came from the water rang loudly in the heavy +atmosphere and sounded mysterious and uncanny. There were plenty of +vessels on the river now, as the channel between the gulf and Quebec +is navigable for the largest ocean steamers. + +While the boys lay in the cabin, sheltered from the gulf wind which +had been so grateful the night before, the heavy rumbling of a freight +train and sharp call of an engine whistle came to their ears. + +"That listens good to me," Alex cried. "Say, fellows, how would you +like to know, just for a couple of hours, that the noise of that train +came from the Union station in little old Chicago?" + +"Yes," Jule exclaimed, "I like to look into the river and think I'm +standing on Madison street bridge! Do you remember the stories the +newspapers used to print about the water in the Chicago river, before +the drainage canal was put through? Pretty good fiction, eh?" + +Captain Joe chuckled until his shoulders shook like jelly. + +"Every reporter on the Chicago papers in those days," the captain +said, "was turning out works of fiction. They used to print pieces +about men falling off Madison street bridge and off Clark street +bridge and dashing out their brains on the solid water below. And then +they used to tell stories about the river being so black the typists +used to color their ribbons in it. There's something about Chicago +that seems to me to stir the imagination! It's a great old town!" + +The boys discussed their home city until something like ten o'clock. +They were just going to bed when a call came from the shore at the end +of the cove. All were on deck instantly. + +"Perhaps that's Max," suggested Jule, "or one of those river pirates." + +"Or it may be a detachment of ruffians looking for the lost channel," +Case put in. + +Captain Joe sat back and laughed heartily. + +"Boys," he said, "I believe that lost channel has turned your heads. +You talk about it, and drink it, and sleep it, and I believe you would +eat it if there was anything tangible about it. I'm interested in it, +too, kids, but I don't spread it on my bread instead of butter." + +"Hello, the boat," came the hail from the shore. + +"What do you want?" asked Clay. + +"I want to come on board." + +"Beds all full," answered Alex. + +"But I want to talk with you," insisted the strange voice. + +"All right," Clay said, "proceed with your conversation." + +"I'm not here to confide to the whole countryside what I want to say +to you," was the angry reply. + +Clay was considering a sarcastic rejoinder but Case laid a warning +hand on his shoulder. + +"There may be something in this," the boy said. "Suppose two of us get +into the boat and go over and see." + +"Don't you think of such a thing," Captain Joe advised. "That fellow +may not have a boat of his own, but if he is of any account at all, he +can get one long enough to row out to the _Rambler_. The place for him +to talk to us is right on this deck. It may be a trap." + +"That's good sense, too," Clay agreed. "He can go away if he doesn't +want to comply with our requirements. He may be only a tramp seeking a +ride on the river. There are plenty of such characters here." + +"I wish he would come aboard," Clay suggested, "and I'll see if I +can't coax him," he added, turning toward the shore and making a +trumpet of his hands. "Perhaps he already has a boat." + +"Hello, the shore," he called, "we're going away directly, so if you +want to talk with us, you'd better row out." + +"You always was the boy with a little prevarication on the end of your +tongue!" suggested Alex. "We're not going away directly." + +"Morning is directly," laughed Clay turning toward the shore again. + +"Are you coming on board?" he asked. + +"I haven't got any boat," was the reply. "Why can't you send one +over?" + +Clay's reply elicited a volley of epithets from the shore, and +directly a great blaze sprang up not many feet distant from the water. + +"Wreckers!" cried Captain Joe. + +"Surest thing you know!" answered Clay. "The only wonder is that they +didn't set their beacon going before." + +"And this," Jule suggested, "seems to be more like real life. Things +are livening up. They'll be going good by the time we get to St. +Luce." + +"They may be going too fast!" warned the old captain. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +CAPTAIN JOE'S NIGHT VISIT + + +"I really would like to know," Case observed, "whether those fellows +are real wreckers, or whether they have been waiting there for the +_Rambler_ to come back down the river. You know the story was printed +that we were coming back to look up the lost channel." + +"I don't know of any way of finding out unless we go to shore," Alex +suggested, looking very much as if he would like to pay a visit to the +blaze. "We might learn something of importance," he added rather +coaxingly. "Suppose we do go and see." + +"If you try to leave this boat to-night," Clay declared, "I'll tie you +up with one of the anchor cables. We haven't got any time to waste +hunting for you. So you stay on board the boat." + +Alex did not exactly like the idea of going quietly to bed, but he was +finally induced to do so. + +"Now," said Captain Joe, as he stood alone on deck with Clay, "suppose +we shove over to the other shore. Those fellows are wreckers, there is +no doubt of that, and there is no sense in our mixing with them. If we +stay here, they'll prowl around the _Rambler_ all night, and the +bulldog will bark and the bear will growl, and it will be like +sleeping in a boiler shop. What do you say to that?" + +"That suits me exactly," Clay answered. + +"Then I'll tell you what we'll do. From the point where we tie +to-night, we'll pass down the river on the north side. That will bring +us in behind Cartier island, and we can push up the west river instead +of the east one, which seemed to be the center of activity when you +were there." + +"That's another good suggestion," Clay agreed. + +"The west river," the old captain went on, "is a small stream in +comparison with the other. There's a funny thing about it that I never +could understand. I was in there once, landing supplies for a +surveying party and it seemed to me then that that stream never grew +to any size until it came within a mile or so of the isthmus which +connects the peninsula with the main shore." + +"Then there must be some tributary of good size there," said Clay. + +"That's just the point," the captain went on. "There isn't any +tributary of good size there. The peninsula is very narrow and slopes +steeply to the west. In fact, the river to the east is several feet +higher than the one on the west. That's one reason why I think there +never was any channel through there." + +"That is true," Clay answered. "You see, a channel through there, +running at the rate the incline would naturally call for, would cut a +hole through that neck of land about as wide as one of the main +rivers. Why, it would drain the big river and turn all the water into +the small stream. At least, it looks that way to me." + +"Oh, I don't know about that," the captain answered, "there's a lot of +water in that east river. Still, there's no channel there and never +was so far as I can understand. Now, what I can't understand is, how +this west river gets so big all at once. There may be a creek running +in at the other side, but if there is, I never found it." + +"You seem to understand that district pretty well," Clay laughed. + +"Didn't I tell you I knew the whole St. Lawrence river south, north, +and bottom?" demanded the captain. "Why, when I took that load of +provisions in for the surveyors, there were Indians enough along the +shore to give a city a population as large as Chicago's. And there +were bears, and wolves, and deer, and beaver, and all sorts of wild +creatures in the woods--thick as berries in a swamp." + +During this conversation the two had been watching the shore where the +light had sprung up. With a night glass they could see figures passing +in front of the blaze, but the beacon, if such it was, soon died down +to embers, and nothing more was heard from the shore. + +They both listened for the sound of oars in the river, but none came. +The tide was running in and the current was running out, with the +result that great ranks of waves lay across the wide river like +winnows in a field of grain. The wind blew sweeping up from the gulf, +opposing the current, and, taken altogether, it was as dangerous and +uncertain a night on the river as one could well imagine. + +The _Rambler_ danced and bobbed about frightfully, drawing at her +anchor and seeming to lunge forward in the waste of water. However, +she was a staunch little craft, and the boys were used to her capers +on the waves, and so paid little attention. + +"They wouldn't dare to venture out in a boat to-night," was Clay's +comment. "Besides," he added, "they know now that we are suspicious +and watchful, and, unless I am greatly in error, we will hear no more +of them." + +"Shall we go across now?" asked the captain. + +"I'm ready if you think we can make it." + +The captain chuckled again and his shoulders shook. + +"Make it?" he repeated. "Of course we can make it." + +"The tide and the wind are fighting the current," Clay suggested, "and +all we'll have to do will be to fight the waves." + +It was rather rough getting to the north shore, but the trip was made +without accident, except that Jule was thrown from his bunk and +Captain Joe, the dog, and Teddy protested against the storm in ways +best known to bulldogs and bears. Jule merely rubbed his eyes and +crawled back into his bunk. + +They found a place to anchor where the _Rambler_ would be protected +during the night by a finger of rock running out into the river. All +along the shore to the north was a heavy forest. The trees swayed and +creaked in the wind, and now and then a crash from the interior told +of the falling of some monarch of the forest which had doubtless +withstood the storms of the St. Lawrence valley for hundreds of years. + +It was a wild night on the river and on the land, but the boys slept +peacefully until morning. As for Captain Joe, he declared that it +reminded him so much of old nights on the banks of Newfoundland that +he wanted to sit up and refresh his recollection of those adventurous +times. + +Clay rather suspected that the old captain was too apprehensive of +evil from the wreckers, or accidents from the storm, to go to bed, but +he let him have his way, and the hardy old fellow seemed as bright and +active as ever in the morning. He even declined to go to the cabin for +rest when the boys insisted that he ought to do so. + +"We'll get rest enough when we get down to the west river," the +captain smiled. "I can sleep in the woods." + +"That's just where we won't get any rest," Jule urged. + +"Huh," murmured Alex. "That's where I get my rest! The natives were so +afraid that I'd tire myself walking around that they trussed me up +like a hen. I'd just like to get a hold of some of those outlaws. +They're the limit--the worst I ever encountered." + +"What did they do to you?" asked Captain Joe. + +"Do to me?" repeated Alex. "Why, they had a stew, or a boiled dinner, +or something, cooking in a tin pail over a fire, and they wouldn't +give me a thing to eat. And that is the height of meanness!" + +As if repenting of the violence of the day before, and trying to make +restitution for the many blows at the sad old world, the weather that +morning was all that could have been desired. The air was clear and +sweet after its bath of rain, and the leaves of the forest sparkled +and rustled like jewels as the sun shone upon their moist surfaces. + +The boys made good time that day, although they did not feel inclined +to hurry. Alex took the canoe out in the forenoon and caught half a +dozen fish which he cleaned for dinner. The boy wanted to go ashore +and prepare the dinner a la Indian again, but the others insisted that +they really wanted a fish dinner, so the catch was baked in the oven +of the coal stove. The boys claim to this day that Alex consumed half +of the fish that he caught, but of course Alex disputes this. + +At sundown they anchored the _Rambler_ within four or five miles of +the west river, in a little bay which ran into the mainland almost +behind the westward extension of Cartier island. + +No lights were shown on the boat, supper having been prepared in the +dark, and the boys sat along the deck fighting mosquitoes and +listening to the calls of the wild creatures in the woods. + +The point they had selected for their anchorage was directly west of +Point aux Outardes, and when the moon rose the boys naturally turned +their eyes in that direction. Although the point was fully four miles +away, a rocky promontory could be seen standing sharply out against +the dark line of the forest. + +"Captain," Alex said, as they sat back of the gunwale on the prow, "I +wish you'd take this glass and see what you can discover on that +point." + +Captain Joe took the glass into his hand and held it for a long time, +swinging it back and forth over the shore to the north, and over the +river line of Cartier island. Then he handed it back to Alex. + +"I'll tell you," he said slowly, "there's a campfire over on the +point, and there are many people around it. At least I see figures +moving back and forth." + +"Perhaps that is a base of supplies for the fellows who are trying to +find the lost channel in order to beat Fontenelle to the charter and +the family jewels," Clay suggested. + +"It doesn't seem as if they would camp in so conspicuous a place." + +"Oh, I don't know about that," Case said, "they have nothing to fear +from officers or wreckers. They are only hunting for a lost treasure, +which any one may find who is lucky enough to get to it." + +"Let's go and call on them," suggested Alex. + +"I prefer to live a little longer," Case laughed. + +"Aw, come on, they won't hurt us," Alex argued, "I'm going." + +The boys laughed at the idea and Alex said no more about the proposed +excursion, but Clay suggested to Captain Joe after the others were in +their bunks: + +"We must watch that little rascal, or he'll get up in the night and +run over there. He's always doing tricks of that kind, and some time +he'll get into serious trouble." + +Captain Joe pretended to regard the situation as very serious, and +said that he would see that Alex didn't get away from the boat that +night. With this Clay seemed contented. The old captain insisted on +keeping watch again that night, but if the boys had been about the +deck they would have seen very little of him, for all that. + +As soon as the others were asleep, the captain untied the tow line of +the canoe, stepped softly into it, and paddled away in the direction +of the north shore. So far as possible he kept the bulk of the +_Rambler_ between himself and the point where the light had been seen. + +Reaching the margin of the bay, he turned to the east and paddled +straight to the mouth of the west river. After an hour of steady work, +he reached a point a little east and directly north of Point aux +Outardes. Nothing could be seen of the fire or the figures about it +from the north, and the captain boldly crossed the arm of the bay +stretching in behind Cartier island. In half an hour he was on the +island itself, and separated only by a few rods of mingled rocks and +bushes from the point. + +Advancing cautiously to the south he came within view of the blaze and +within hearing of much of the conversation going on there. + +The night hours passed slowly. The moon swung to the south and off to +the west, and the shadows lay long in the forest before the old +captain moved from his point of observation. Then with a chuckle he +crept back to his canoe, and long before the boys were out of their +bunks he was fishing over the gunwale of the _Rambler_ in the most +innocent manner imaginable. The old fellow chuckled as he dropped his +line. + +"That bay stretching in behind the peninsula," he mused, "looks to me +just as it did a good many years ago. No improvements seem to have +been made there notwithstanding the work of the surveyors, and the +country is just as desolate as it was then. If I had had a little more +time I might have paddled up to the mouth of the west river and looked +over the situation there, but daylight showed too soon." + +"What's that you're muttering about?" asked Alex clapping a hand on +the old captain's arm. "You must be talking in your sleep." + +"Not that any one knows of," chuckled the old captain. "I was only +saying that from here the country looks exactly as it used to." + +"And my stomach feels exactly as it used to," Alex declared. "You +catch the fish, and I'll cook 'em, and we'll tumble the boys out for +breakfast. They're sleeping too long, anyway." + +This program was followed to the letter, and before noon the _Rambler_ +lay up the west river about a mile from the bay creeping in behind +Cartier island. At first no one left the boat, however. + +"Do you remember what the chief of police said about Fontenelle's boat +and a lot of perfectly good provisions lying on the bottom of the +river?" asked Clay as the boys lounged on deck. + +"Indeed I do," replied Case. "I've been thinking it would be a fine +thing if we could find that boat." + +"I have found it!" Clay exclaimed. + +"Yes, you have!" Case said, doubtfully. + +"Sure, I have," Clay went on. "When we swung in past Point aux +Outarde, you were all watching the point to see what had become of the +men who camped there last night, while I was searching the bay on the +north side looking for some signs of the wreck of the _Cartier_." + +"And you found it, did you?" Case cried excitedly. + +"Sure, I found it," Clay declared. "It lays bottom down in about +fifteen feet of water, with the top of the cabin showing plainly." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IT IS NOW CLAY'S TURN + + +"Do you think we can raise her?" asked Case. + +"We can if she has any bottom left," declared Clay. "If they only cut +a few holes in her and sunk her that way, we can get her out." + +"Aw, what's the good of taking up time with the old wreck!" demanded +Alex, who had listened to the conversation. "It isn't our boat, +anyway." + +"But the _Cartier_ is a splendid launch, and worth a lot of money," +Clay suggested, "and we might pay the expenses of the trip by getting +her out for the Fontenelles. It won't do any harm to try." + +"All right!" Alex cried. "Just remember I'm the champion long distance +diver, when you get ready to go down and look her over." + +After breakfast the _Rambler_ was taken still farther upstream, as far +up, in fact, as the depth of the water would permit. + +"There!" Captain Joe observed, pointing to a bend just above the prow +of the boat. "This is the strange thing that I called your attention +to. The river widens here in the most mysterious manner." + +"It may be just back water," Clay ventured. + +"No sir!" answered the captain. "There is no back water here. See how +steadily the current runs? And there's no creek running in, either." + +"Then there must be a subterranean stream running--" + +Clay checked himself with the sentence half finished. + +"Suppose," he mused, "just suppose, there should be a subterranean +stream running in from under the hills--let us say from the north. +That would be a channel, wouldn't it? And it might be a lost channel +at that! Why didn't I think of that before." + +The boy was so full of the thought, so enthusiastic over the thing it +might mean, that he concluded to make a quiet investigation on his own +hook, saying nothing to the others regarding the matter. + +"What was it you said about some underground stream?" asked Captain +Joe. "You started in to say something about it and then stopped +abruptly." + +"Oh, it just occurred to me that there might be an underground river +somewhere around here, but I guess that's just a dream. There couldn't +be any river, you see, for the ground is rocky, and there seems to be +no place for an underground stream to get its supply." + +"No," the old captain agreed, "there can't be any underground stream +that's a sure thing. If there are caverns they are dry." + +Clay chuckled to himself, and went into the cabin after Alex. + +"Come on, Redhead!" he cried catching the boy by the arm. "We are now +going ashore to dig up the lost channel." + +"That's a nice pleasant little job, too!" Alex declared. + +"Well, come on," Clay insisted. "We'll go over and make a start, +anyway. We may be able to find out if the outlaws are really here." + +Explaining to Captain Joe and the others that they were going only a +short distance from the shore, the boys launched the canoe and were +soon on the sloping shore of the peninsula. Once across they hid their +canoe in a thicket which overhung the stream and disappeared in the +interior. + +"Now, look here," Clay said as he stopped and sat deliberately down in +the shade of a great tree, "I've got an idea." + +Alex stared hard in pretended wonder and amazement. + +"Where did you get it?" he asked. + +"Brain cell opened and gave it to me," Clay answered. + +"Well, come across with it," Alex urged. + +"Captain Joe wants to know where the water comes from to make the west +river so large at its mouth," Clay went on. "I started in to tell him +that there might be a subterranean stream somewhere hereabouts, but I +thought he would laugh at me and so kept my mouth shut." + +Alex sprang to his feet and swung round and round on his heels, +chuckling and shaking hands with himself. + +"That's the idea!" he cried. "That's just the idea! There is a +subterranean stream here somewhere! Look at the way the rocks are +piled up, and look at the long slope from the top of the ridges to the +level of the river. There are catch basins here somewhere, and water +pouring into the river that no one knows anything about." + +"Now go a little farther," Clay suggested. "Figure that at some time, +say two or three hundred years ago, this subterranean channel lay open +to the sun. Now what do you make of it?" + +"Holy smoke!" almost shouted Alex. "I make a lost channel!" + +"There you are!" Clay began, "and all we've got to do is to just look +around and find it. We've got plenty of time." + +"That will be some cheerful job, too," Alex commented. "We've only got +about forty thousand square miles of territory to look over." + +"I think," Clay said, "that we have the idea, and that is the main +thing. The rest is only a matter of detail." + +As the boys sat under the tree, Alex having dropped down to the turf +again, a rustling of bushes was heard to the east and they turned in +that direction, scanning the thicket closely. Then Alex seized Clay by +the arm and pointed away through the underbrush. + +"Did you ever see that figure before?" he asked. + +"Looks to me to be about the size of Max," Clay answered. "I wonder if +he is watching us, or whether he is only looking in the direction of +the _Rambler_. Anyway, we'd better move." + +The boys shifted their position some yards to the north and crouched +down again. The bushes showed motion once more, and they saw the +figure they had observed moving toward the bank of the west river. + +"He never saw us!" cried Alex. "He is sneaking down on the _Rambler_." + +"Yes," Clay replied, "and there are two or three just behind him." + +"I had an idea," Alex chuckled, "that things would begin to liven up +as soon as we got into this country. This will please Captain Joe!" + +"Captain Joe," Clay replied, "seems inclined to take things rather +seriously. The chances are that he is wondering now, night and day, +how four rattleheaded boys ever got so far over the world without +being murdered or sent to the penitentiary. Still, he isn't always +passing out advice." + +From their new shelter, the boys now saw Max and three men pass to the +west and stand under a screen of boughs looking down toward the +_Rambler_. + +"The war is on, I guess," Clay said. "Those fellows were here waiting +for us to come back. Did it ever occur to you that they know about our +having that mysterious map?" + +"Now you've said something," Alex exclaimed. "That map was intended +for those opposing the Fontenelles. It was given to us by mistake, and +the people who should have had it know that we've got it. That's why +they're watching us so. Wonder we never thought of that before." + +"It seems to me that you've struck it right," Clay answered. "They've +been waiting here all this time for us to come back it seems." + +"Then I should think they'd keep out of sight until we get busy +looking for the channel. They surely won't want to drive us away +before we demonstrate what we know about it." + +"I presume they think they are keeping out of sight," Clay decided. + +"Well, they're not keeping very close watch, for they don't seem to +know that we're on shore." + +"Don't be too sure of that," Clay answered. "They may be watching us +this minute. Perhaps we'd better move." + +As the boys spoke, Max and his three companions started at a swift +pace up the bank of the stream keeping always out of view of the boat. +They passed the place where the boys lay in hiding and for a moment +the lads heard them pushing through the underbrush. + +"They've probably gone to their tent now," Alex suggested, "and I'm +going to follow on and see if I can locate them." + +"All right," Clay said, "only be careful. I'll go back to the boat and +tell the boys what's going on. Be sure you don't get captured, now," +he added as Alex turned to the thicket to the north. + +"No danger of that," the boy grinned and the next moment he was out of +sight, pushing through the thicket in the direction taken by Max. + +Clay stood for an instant longer where the boy had left him and then +moved in the direction of the river. + +But his progress toward the stream came to an abrupt termination in a +minute. He tripped over what he at first believed to be a running vine +and fell to the ground. Then, as he lifted himself to a sitting +position, he saw the obstacle over which he had fallen was a rope and +that it was held in the hands of two evil looking men. + +The men, bearded and dirty, broke into a laugh over Clay's look of +amazement. They sprang toward him and in a moment he was relieved of +his weapons. The boy sat perfectly still, for the attack had come so +suddenly that he could hardly comprehend the situation. + +"Ain't it the cute little child?" guffawed one of the men, slapping +his knees and bending down to look the boy in the face. + +"He's all of that," replied the other. "This is the little boy that's +come out here to find a hidden channel that no one else can find. He +used to be a real cute little newsboy in Chicago, and directly he'll +wish he was back selling newspapers on Clark street! + +"Are these all the poppers you have, kid?" he asked pointing to the +revolvers which had been taken from the boy. "You might injure +yourself by carrying them." + +Clay glanced at the fellow steadily. He had now in a measure recovered +his equilibrium. His impulse was to smash a blow into the grinning +face bent over him. + +He didn't like the black, matted beard. He objected to the greasy, +frayed jacket. The man's snaky, near-set eyes offended him. More than +once he drew back a clenched fist to strike the evil face. + +"It seems to me," the boy said, restraining himself with a great +effort, "that I walked right into a den and found the snakes at home." + +"Yes, little one," the man replied, "We sort of dipped you up in a +bottle. I bet my chum, here, a dollar that he wouldn't get you the +first time he tried. I lose, so you'd better pass out the dough and +I'll pay up. I always pay my sporting debts." + +"Perhaps you'd better take the whole roll," Clay said, producing a +small handful of change and passing it over. "You'll get it in time, +anyway." + +The man took the money, counted it slowly with clumsy fingers and +thrust it into a pocket. + +"As long as you have money, you know," Clay said sneeringly, "you +won't have to be taking pennies away from children or stealing from +blind men. You're quite welcome to what I have." + +"You just cut that stuff quick," snarled the man rising to his feet, +his face blotching red. "Cut that quick!" + +He might have struck the boy only his companion drew him away. + +"Keep back, you fool," the cooler man said, "Do you want him to bring +all the others here with his yelping? Why, we can't even shoot him +till sundown, so we'd better gag him to keep him from squealing." + +"You needn't worry about me squealing," Clay said. "I learned how to +keep my mouth shut when you ruffians were serving your last sentence +in the penitentiary." + +One of the men drew out a knife and flashed it angrily before the +boy's face. + +"Keep a civil tongue in your head," he said, "and you, Ben, chase up +to the north and get the kid that followed Max. We'll tie 'em up +together." + +Clay was now drawn to his feet and his hands tied tightly behind his +back. In this condition, he was marched swiftly through the brush, +vines and boughs striking his unprotected face. He paid little +attention, however, to his physical discomforts. He was listening for +some indication of the capture of Alex. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +A SPLASH OF WATER + + +Much to Clay's amazement, his captor kept to the east following a +ridge of rocks from which both rivers might be seen in the distance +whenever the foliage did not intervene. After walking half a mile or +more, the fellow turned his steps into a narrow gully and soon entered +a natural cavern before which a campfire had been built. + +"Now, you pretty little creature," he said, addressing Clay, "you're +going to be tied up here and left until you return the map which was +given to you by mistake." + +"A map of what?" asked Clay instantly. + +"A map of this country," was the short reply. + +"I'm not giving out maps at present," the boy answered. + +"Perhaps you will be, after you get good and hungry," snarled the +other. + +"In the first place," Clay said, "I haven't got the map. I couldn't +get it for you if I wanted to. The boys wouldn't give it up." + +"So you admit that you've got it?" + +"I did have a rough drawing of this country," was the reply, "but it +didn't seem to mean much to me." + +"That's the document we want," the outlaw said, "and the quicker you +give it up and get out of this district, the safer your hide will be." + +Before Clay could make any response the man who had set off in pursuit +of Alex came wrathfully into the cave. One hand was bleeding +profusely, and there was a long cut on his left cheek. His clothing +was disarranged, showing every evidence of a physical struggle. + +"Where's the kid, Ben?" was asked. + +The man's reply was a volley of epithets and profanity. + +"You never let him get away from you, did you?" asked the other +angrily. "You might bring him in in your pocket." + +"You couldn't bring him in in a dray," answered Ben. "You might as +well try to wrestle with a bumble bee. I got a grip on the little +imp's collar, but before I could do a thing, he had a knife out. And +then I got this," laying a dirty finger on a dirtier hand, "and this," +pointing to the bleeding cheek. "And the next I knew, he was out of +sight in the jungle." + +"You're the brave boy!" snarled the other. + +"Look here, Steve," Ben said, "if you think it's such a fine stunt to +seize a Chicago newsboy, you just go and try it yourself. I've had +enough of it. And that's no fairy tale." + +Ben threw himself angrily on the floor of the cave, took a bottle of +liquor and a roll of white cloth from under a fur robe which lay in a +corner and proceeded to cleanse and bind up his wound. Clay watched +him with a smile on his face. Steve was scowling frightfully. + +"You needn't look so pleased over it, young feller," the outlaw said. +"We'll get that little imp, yet. And we'll get your boat and your +whole crew. And if we have much more trouble, we'll start a cemetery +right here." + +Clay made no reply at the time. He was wondering just how much the +outlaws knew of the map. It seemed to him that the person who had +drawn the first one might easily draw a second upon the loss of the +first. He could not understand why the outlaws were making such +strenuous efforts to secure the document when they might have procured +a copy. + +"What was it you said about a map?" the boy finally asked of Steve who +sat now scowling at Ben. "Where did the map come from?" + +"It came from a blooming Indian," was the sullen reply. + +The fellow answered the question so promptly that Clay decided that he +was merely a cheap tool in the employ of some master mind. + +"Well," the boy went on, "why are you bothering us about it? Why don't +you go and get him to make another?" + +Steve hesitated and Clay listened very impatiently indeed for his +answer. Finally the outlaw spoke: + +"Blest if I know," he said. "We were told to get the map and that's +all we know about it." + +"And if you can't get it?" asked Clay. + +"Then all we've got to do is to start a graveyard. If we can't get it, +no one else shall use it. Mind that!" + +"How long have you been waiting here for the _Rambler_ to come back +down the river?" asked the boy. + +"Look here," replied Steve, apparently regretting his previous +loquacity. "I've known a whole lot of boys to get along in the world +without asking so many questions." + +As he spoke he arose, went to the mouth of the cavern and glanced out. +Ben followed him with the one eye which was free of the bandage, but +did not arise. Directly a stone broke loose from a side of the gully +and went pounding down to the rocky bottom. Then a low whistle was +heard. + +"Come on in," shouted Steve. "We did our part. What about you?" + +The man who entered was roughly dressed. His face was covered by a +week's growth of beard. His long black hair hung straggly about his +ears. Yet, after all, the carriage of the head and body was not that +of a riverman. Clay sat looking at him for a long time wondering where +he had seen him before. He was certain that he had seen him before. +Strive as he might, however, the boy could not associate the figure +and pose with any scene in his past life. The man advanced into the +cave and looked about. + +"Where is the other boy?" he asked sharply. + +Steve threw out a hand to indicate flight and snapped his fingers +significantly. The newcomer frowned. + +"And so you let him get away, did you?" + +"Ask Ben about that," Steve replied, pointing to the bandaged face. + +In spite of the newcomer's evident disappointment, a smile came to his +face as he looked toward the wounded man. + +"He's a bloomin' bumble bee!" growled Ben. + +"And it seems that he stung you with steel," said the newcomer. "Brave +men you are, to let a kindergarten kid get away with you!" + +"What I say is," Ben answered, angrily, "that you can go and get him +yourself. This here beauty mark I've got is enough for me." + +"Don't get excited," smiled the newcomer. "It will all come out right +in the wash. We'll get them all, in time." + +Clay began to remember the voice. + +"I have heard it before somewhere," he mused. "This man is not an +outlaw in the common acceptance of the word. He is probably the man +having this very delectable enterprise in charge." + +Then he remembered the scene on the street in Montreal, and the story +which had been told him by the campfire up the St. Lawrence came back +to his mind. + +This man might be the Lawyer Martin who had been referred to by the +farmer. The lawyer, it had been stated, was apt in private theatricals +and of pleasing personality. This man was disguised so far as clothing +went, and his conversation showed that he was tactful and understood +how to keep on the right side of the men with whom he mingled. + +The more the boy studied over the problem, the more certain he became +that the man who was handling the unlawful enterprise, designing to +keep the Fontenelles out of their rights stood before him. + +Presently Lawyer Martin, if it was he, turned a pair of keen yet +half-humorous eyes in the direction of the boy. + +"Did you have a pleasant trip up the river?" he asked. + +"Fine!" replied Clay. "Plenty of good sport." + +"If you had asked my advice," the other said, "you would have +proceeded straight up the lakes from Ogdensburg. It would have been +safer." + +"If safety was the only thing we figured on when we started away," the +boy answered, "we wouldn't have started at all. We would have remained +at home and gone to bed." + +"You seem to be quite a bright boy," the other suggested. "Why don't +you give up the map turned over to you by mistake, and go on about +your business? That's what you ought to do." + +"Why don't you get another map?" asked Clay. + +"Because," was the reply, "the old Indian who made the one you have +was drowned on the night he turned it over to you." + +"I'll tell you what I'll do," Clay said, "you come on board the +_Rambler_ with me and we'll give the map to Captain Joe, and then +we'll all go together and deliver it to Fontenelle. It seems to belong +to him." + +"I think you'll change your mind," replied the other. + +After a short whispered conversation with Steve and Ben, the man left +the cavern. Clay would have given a good deal for some knowledge as to +his objective point. He believed that the outlaws had a base of +supplies other than the cavern on the peninsula, and he was wondering +if the boys on the _Rambler_ would be able to discover it. + +After a time Ben began drinking from the bottle of liquor he had drawn +from under the rug, and Steve, seeing that the fellow was drinking +himself into insensibility, left the cave, first seeing that Clay was +tied hand and foot and gagged with one of his own handkerchiefs. + +The boy's position was an uncomfortable one. He moved restlessly +about, rolling toward the entrance as if in quest of fresh air. Ben +arose and stood watching him drunkenly. + +"You're not so worse," the fellow cried. "If I had my way, I'd get out +of this mix mighty quick. I'm a kind-hearted man, kid! The drunker I +get, the kinder I am." + +Clay was on the point of suggesting that he drink the remainder of the +liquor in the bottle, so that he might be kind enough to untie him, +but did not do so for obvious reasons. + +The boy was in hopes that Ben would become too intoxicated to pay any +attention to his movements, but he did not do so. Instead, he filled a +cob pipe with villainous tobacco and sat down at the entrance to the +cavern within a few feet of where the boy lay. + +During all this time, the boy was wondering if Alex had gone back to +the _Rambler_ or whether he had trailed on after the men who had +attempted his capture. In the latter case, the boy was evidently not +very far away. He listened intently for some indication of the boy's +presence, but none came. He wondered if the boys on the _Rambler_ +would make an effort to find him before night set in. + +And so, gagged and bound, he spent a long, painful day. No one came to +the cave, and Ben was his sole guardian. The man became talkative +after a while and discussed the streets of Chicago, which he seemed to +know well, but became silent whenever an incautious word regarding the +present situation came to his lips. + +When darkness came, Steve and two more burly ruffians made their +appearance. They uncovered a box at the back of the cavern and, +reaching in, drew out bread and canned fruit and vegetables. As the +four sat feeding like a drove of swine, Ben observed Clay's eyes fixed +hungrily on the food. + +"Why don't you give the boy some of the chuck?" he asked, angrily. + +"Here, kid," he added, taking the handkerchief from Clay's mouth, +releasing his hands, and passing him a loaf of bread and tin of beef, +"just help yourself to this table d'hôte dinner." + +Steve and the others snarled out their objections to this procedure, +but Clay was finally left to eat his scanty supper in peace. + +After the men had finished eating, they arose and threw their cans and +bottles into a shallow annex to the cave on the south. + +"I'm great for keeping things in order," grinned Ben, giving a tin +tomato can a particularly vigorous kick. "I always like to see things +kept decent." + +The can bounded against the wall, fell to the floor and rolled down a +dark incline, and Clay's heart beat into his throat as he heard the +splash of water. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +LIFTING A SUNKEN LAUNCH + + +After the departure from the _Rambler_ of Clay and Alex, Captain Joe +began exploring the little store rooms of the craft in search of +cables and grappling hooks. He soon had quite a collection laying on +the deck. + +"What's the idea, Captain Joe?" asked Case. + +"Well, boys," the captain replied, "you remember what the Quebec chief +of police said regarding the _Cartier_ and the perfectly good +assortment of supplies lying at the bottom of the St. Lawrence river?" + +"Sure, we remember that," Case replied. + +"And you remember what Clay said about having discovered the boat as +we came in? Why, he told us right where it is." + +"Yes, he said he saw it on the bottom," Jule interrupted. + +"Now, I have an idea," Captain Joe smiled, winking at the two boys, +"that it would be all right for us to lift the launch while Clay is +away. What do you say to that?" + +"Great idea!" shouted Case. + +"Then let's get at it," Jule suggested. + +"The first thing to do," Captain Joe said, "is to find out exactly +where the _Cartier_ lies." + +"Aw, I know that," Jule said, "Clay told me about that. It's right +over there in about fifteen feet of water just below that submerged +bar." + +"Fifteen feet with or without the tide?" asked Captain Joe. + +"Fifteen feet with the tide out," was the reply, "and the tide is out +now, so we'd better be getting busy." + +They swung the _Rambler_ over to the north side of the bar and +anchored. From this new position, across the white surface of the +bottom, they could see the trunk cabin of the _Cartier_ sitting +squarely up in the water. The boat had evidently dropped straight down +when scuttled, and she now lay on an almost even keel with her nose +pointing upstream. + +"Now, I tell you, boys," Captain Joe observed, "one of you must go +down and attach a line to her forward towing bitts. I'd go down +myself, understand, only I'm so big and clumsy that I might displace +too much water in the stream. Who'll go?" + +"I'm the champion diver of the South Branch," Jule cried, "and I'll go +down and have that line fast in about a second." + +"It's a long dive," warned Captain Joe. + +"I've stood on my head in deeper water than that," said the boy. + +Case got out the rowboat and Jule was taken over to the place from +which he was to dive. The end of the cable was passed to him and he +dropped down. In a moment, he came climbing up the rope like a young +monkey, shaking water over Case as he tumbled into the boat. + +"Now get a-going," he said, "and we'll have this boat out of the mud +before Clay and Alex return. I wonder what we'll find on board of +her." + +"You don't expect to find a lost channel, do you? Or a casket of +family jewels?" asked Case, with a wink. + +"I was thinking," Jule replied, "that we might find something to eat." + +The boys rowed back to the _Rambler_, clambered on board, and the +motor boat was started forward, one end of the cable attached to her +after deck cleats. She pulled steadily for a moment under full power, +but the launch refused to move. She was evidently deeply imbedded in +the bottom. + +"I reckon we'll have to go down and push," Case grinned. + +"You just wait, boys, and I'll try it once more," Captain Joe said. + +The second attempt was successful, and the _Cartier_ was drawn slowly, +carefully, to the bar. When she left her original position on the +bottom of the river, she listed to one side and so came in almost on +her beam ends. + +"I guess we've spilled some of her crockery," Jule laughed as the boat +showed one side of her hull. "Fontenelle may kick on our wearing out +his furniture." + +"Oh, he'll be glad enough to get his boat back," Captain Joe remarked. +"Now, we'll see if we can pump her out." + +The launch now lay tipping only slightly on the bar, her keel having +cut into the soft sand, with her gunwales two or three inches above +the surface of the river. The cabin stood well out of the river, of +course, but the great body of water in the cockpit and over the cabin +floor held her down. + +"Now we'll see if we can't pump her out," Captain Joe said. "I don't +understand what sent her to the bottom. She looks to be as fit as a +fiddle." + +"Perhaps we can tell that when we get the water out of her," Case +suggested. "There may be a big hole in her bottom." + +The _Rambler's_ pump was now put in operation, but the interior of the +launch remained full of water. The river rushed in as fast as the +pumps removed it, so the craft did not rise to the surface. + +"You'll have to get your feet wet again, Jule," Case said. "Just drop +over into the cockpit and see if you can see any hole in the bottom." + +Jule did as requested, floundering and splashing about in the water as +though he considered the enterprise only a bit of fun. + +"Nothing doing here!" he shouted back. "There's no hole in the bottom +that I can see. There may be one under the double floor in the cabin +but I don't believe it." + +"Look for the sea-cock," cried Captain Joe, leaning over the gunwale +of the _Rambler_. "It may have been opened. It ought to be right there +in the cockpit close to the wall of the cabin." + +Jule felt around in the water for a time, ducked his head under in +order to get closer to the bottom now and then and finally raised his +dripping face with a shout. + +"I've found it!" he cried. "The sea-cock was wide open and that's what +sunk the launch." + +"Wonder Fontenelle wouldn't have investigated," said Case. + +"The launch was probably sunk in the night," Captain Joe suggested, +"when the members of the party were away. When they returned to the +boat, of course, they had no grappling apparatus or anything to help +raise her, and so they just went away and left her in the mud." + +"That's probably it," Case said, turning on the pump. + +"Hold on," Jule cried. "You wait till I get something to plug this +sea-cock with. I can't turn the valve. It's rusty." + +The boy was given a basket of waste which had been used in cleaning +the motors, and in a short time the sea-cock was securely plugged. + +Then the pumps were set in motion again and in a very short time the +_Cartier_ was virtually free of water. + +"That's a mighty handsome boat," Captain Joe observed as the launch +lay on the surface. "If I had her down on the South Branch, I could +have the time of my life every day in the week." + +The boys worked over the boat for some time drying off the woodwork +and fixing the valve of the sea-cock so it would close. + +"Of course, she won't run now," Captain Joe explained, "because the +batteries and the magneto are soaked with water. We can transfer new +apparatus from the _Rambler_ and, as she has plenty of gasoline, she +will go like a duck on a mill-pond." + +"I guess Clay will think we have been going some to get that boat off +the bottom," laughed Case. + +Captain Joe looked at his watch, his face clouding as he did so. + +"Why, look here," he said. "We've been a long time on this job. It is +after one o'clock." + +"We might have known that by the tide coming in," Case said. + +"I wasn't thinking about the water," the captain laughed. "I was +thinking about Clay and Alex. Now, where do you suppose those two +scamps are? They ought to have been here long ago." + +"Perhaps they've found the lost channel!" Jule put in. + +"It is more likely they found a nest of outlaws they couldn't get away +from," was Case's idea of the situation. "I think we ought to do +something about it right now," he added. + +"I am afraid," Captain Joe said, poking a stubby finger into Case's +side, "that it takes you boys about half your time to find each other +when you go off on these river trips. First one gets lost and then the +other." + +"That's all right," Case replied, "but every time a fellow gets lost +he butts into valuable information. Clay may pick up those Fontenelle +diamonds while he's gone, or find the lost charter." + +"It's up to us to do something," Jule insisted. "After dinner, we'll +go out on the peninsula and see what we can discover if Captain Joe +will remain on the boat. We won't be gone long." + +Dinner was hastily prepared and hastily eaten, and then Case and Jule +rowed to the shore in the _Rambler's_ boat, the canoe having been left +on the bank by Clay. The captain saw them disappear in the thicket and +then sat down in the cabin to watch and wait. + +In less than half an hour, he heard shouts on the shore, and then two +figures came plunging down the high bank into the river some distance +above the location of the _Rambler_. + +The captain reached for his gun and stood waiting, fearful at first +that a bold attempt to board the _Rambler_ was being made, but as the +two figures in the water came closer, he saw Case and Jule alternately +swimming on the surface and diving. The reason for this apparently +strange conduct on the part of the boys was soon discovered, for +bullets began whistling about their heads and about the deck of the +_Rambler_. + +However, the swimmers reached the deck of the boat unharmed and +dropped down behind the gunwales. + +"Use your gun, Captain Joe!" Case panted. "Alex is back there in the +woods trying to get to the river." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +DOWN IN THE WHIRLPOOL + + +When Clay heard the splash of water as the tin can disappeared from +sight, he began wondering if what he had heard had reached the ears of +the others. The lost channel was always in his mind, and he was +wondering if the presence of a subterranean body of water there could +have any connection with the channel which had disappeared as if by +magic two or three hundred years before. + +In order to settle the question as to what the outlaws knew concerning +the water which must lie directly under their cave, he asked: + +"Will some of you men give me a drink of water?" + +"Aw, go take a drink out of the river," was the reply he received. + +"Gladly!" cried Clay. "Just untie my feet and I'll show you how +quickly I can get to the river." + +The men laughed heartily at what they considered a good joke and +continued their preparations for leaving the cavern. In a short time +the man believed by Clay to be Lawyer Martin made his appearance, and +then the party started up the gully turning to the east and walking +over the roughest territory Clay had yet seen in that vicinity. The +leader of the party paused now and then to inspect the landscape and +to listen for sounds from the west river. + +"What were your friends doing this afternoon," he asked presently. +"They have dug up a new boat somewhere." + +"I don't know," replied Clay, stumbling over the ground with two husky +guards close to his sides. "Was it my friends who were doing the +shooting?" he added. + +"Shooting?" the leader repeated in apparent amazement. "Did you hear +any shooting? Which way did it come from?" + +"From the west," was the brief reply. + +Clay's escorts glanced at each other significantly, but said nothing. +The boy was satisfied from the attitude of those about him that his +chums had been attacked, but, as a matter of fact, he had heard no +shooting, being at the time it took place in the cavern opening from +the gully. + +After what seemed to Clay to be an endless journey, the party came to +the west shore of the east river. Here, in the glade to the north of +the rocky ledge which they had followed, was a fairly comfortable camp +with tents and bunks and plenty of cooking appurtenances. + +Clay was pushed into a tent and his hands and feet bound again. + +"We can't take any chances on your jumping us in the night," the +leader said as he saw the ropes adjusted around the boy's ankles and +wrists. "If you only had a little sense, we might make you more +comfortable." + +Time and again Clay had the name of Lawyer Martin on his lips. He was +almost positive that the leader of the outlaws was the disguised man +he had met in Montreal, the man of whom the farmer had spoken at the +campfire. However, he conquered the inclination to address the fellow +by the title which he believed to belong to him. + +"If he really is Lawyer Martin," the boy reasoned, "and I let him know +that I know the truth, he'll take good care that I never get out into +the world again to tell of his connection with these outlaws." + +That night was a long one for the boy. One of the outlaws walked +watchfully about the camp all night and another sat close by his bunk +watching with unwearying eyes. It was plain that they considered his +capture of great importance. He reasoned that it was because they had +failed in any attack that might have been made on his chums, and had +not succeeded in securing the map they sought. + +He did not know whether Alex had escaped the clutches of the ruffians +or not, but he believed that if the boy really had been taken prisoner +he would have been brought to the camp he himself occupied. + +The camp was astir at daybreak, when most of the outlaws disappeared +from view, going in every direction except across the river. Clay +would have given a good deal for exact information regarding their +plans for the day, but he could only surmise that all their energies +would be directed toward the destruction of the _Rambler_ and the +driving away of his chums. + +While he lay pondering over the possibilities of the day, the leader +of the party came to his side. + +"How do you feel this morning, my boy?" he asked lightly. + +"I feel like I'd like to stretch my legs a little," was the reply. + +"If I gave you the privilege," asked the other, "will you promise to +make no attempt to escape?" + +"I'm not making any promises," Clay replied, "so I suppose I'll have +to remain where I am." + +"But you can't get away," the leader insisted. + +"How do you know I can't get away?" replied Clay, laughing up into the +man's face. + +"Because we've got you tied hard and fast," was the reply. + +"I've read in the papers," the leader went on, "about this Captain Joe +bulldog of yours and this Teddy bear cub doing wonderful things in the +way of helping you boys out of trouble, but they are up against the +impossible here." + +"I'm sorry," Clay said with a shrug of the shoulders, "but you know +just as well as I do that no game is ever played out as it should be +until the last card is on the table." + +The leader smiled whimsically and turned away. After talking for some +moments with the only man present in the camp, he turned to the west +and disappeared. Then the man he had last talked with approached the +boy. + +"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked. + +"Pie!" roared Clay. "Green apple pie, red apple pie, dried apple pie, +and pie pie. And if you've got any chicken pie, that will come in all +right later on." + +"Your troubles don't seem to affect your appetite, kid," laughed the +man whom Clay discovered to be the cook of the camp. "You're a jolly +kind of a fellow, anyway, and I'm going to give you the best there is +in the larder." + +In half an hour a really good breakfast of ham and eggs, potatoes, +bread and butter, and coffee was served to the boy. He ate heartily, +of course, as most boys will under any circumstances, talking with the +cook as the meal proceeded. + +Directly the leader came to the edge of the little glade and beckoned +to the cook. The latter looked from his employer to the boy and back +again. The leader beckoned imperatively, and the cook left the tent +and approached him. Together they stepped away into the edge of the +thicket and engaged in an animated conversation. + +Clay heard the leader ask if the ropes which held his hands and feet +were still in place, and heard the cook reply that he supposed they +were as he had not examined them. + +"Just for the fun of the thing, now," Clay mused, "I'll find out +whether that chap is right." + +He pulled away at the cords on his wrist, but for a long time was +unable to move them beyond the limit of the motion which had enabled +him to use a fork at his breakfast. + +"I wonder," he thought, "why they didn't give me a knife to eat that +ham with. Never mind, I can make a knife of my own." + +He set his elbow against an earthen plate which lay on the ground, +breaking it into several pieces. The largest fragment, he got into his +mouth and began to saw his wrist ropes against it. The strands of the +rope soon gave way and the boy's hands were free. It took him but a +moment to untie the cords which held his ankles. + +Thus released, he listened for a moment to make sure that the two men +in the edge of the thicket were not observing him. All was still in +that direction and he finally ventured to the opening of the tent and +looked out. The two men were nowhere in sight. + +"Now or never," thought the boy. "While those fellows are cooking up +some scheme for the destruction of the _Rambler_, I'll make a quiet +sneak. The peninsula must be crowded with outlaws, all in search of a +lost channel, and so I'll have to take to the river." + +The boy was out of the glade in an instant, crouching low, of course, +but making good time until he reached the margin of the river. Hoping +to see a boat, he paused there a moment and looked about. As he did +so, the roar of the falls which had obstructed the progress of the +_Rambler_ on her first trip to that vicinity, reached his ears and he +knew that a boat would be practically useless, as it would never live +through the falling water. The only thing for him to do, seemed to be +to take to the water and keep as much out of sight as possible under +the bank. + +He sprang in and struck out down stream wondering if he could pass the +falls without returning to the shore. After swimming a few strokes, he +heard a shout from the bank and saw the leader and the cook hastening +toward the river. The current was strong there just above the falls +and the boy was an excellent swimmer, so the men did not decrease the +distance between themselves and their quarry. + +"If you don't stop, we'll shoot!" the cook cried. + +"And shoot to kill!" came the voice of the leader. + +For a moment Clay swam on blindly under a rain of bullets but he had +no idea whatever of voluntarily returning to the shore. The leaden +pellets splashed into the water all about him for a time but presently +as the men got better range, they began making closer acquaintance. + +The roar of the falls was now almost deafening. The boy could hear a +torrent of water pouring down upon broken rocks. He knew now that it +would be impossible for him to negotiate the falls by way of the +river. He must swim to the shore and pass around the danger point. +This would subject him to the direct fire of his pursuers. + +At last, almost hopeless, he dived into the water to escape the rain +of bullets. To his surprise, he did not come to the surface again when +he used his strength in that direction. + +Either his body had lost its buoyancy or the water was pulling him +down. He seemed to be in a whirlpool. The force of the water drew at +his arms and his legs and clutched him about the chest. Around and +around he whirled, until he grew dizzy with the motion and his lungs +seemed bursting for want of air. + +Then, almost unconscious, he knew that he was being drawn through an +opening into which the water poured with awful force. He knew that he +was being tossed to and fro in something like a basin or pool a moment +later, and felt the fresh air creeping into his lungs. + +The water where he lay did not seem to be more than three or four feet +deep but the current was swift and steady. There was no light +anywhere. The boy groped forward with his hands outstretched until he +came to what seemed to be a ledge of rock. There, exhausted and almost +unconscious from his exertions, he dropped down and his mind became a +blank. + +When he returned to consciousness, a single shaft of light penetrating +the darkness of the place showed him to be in a cavern the dimensions +of which he had no means of knowing. The ledge upon which he had +fallen lay a yard or so above the surface of an underground stream. He +could see the light glancing on the water and hear the roar of the +whirlpool which had brought him into this subterranean place. + +"I've found the lost channel, I guess," he thought bitterly, "and I +guess there'll be two of us lost--a lost river and a lost boy." + +After a time, he felt his way along the ledge only to find that it +came to an abrupt termination against a shoulder of rock. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +WHAT THE EDDY BROUGHT UP + + +When Case and Jule gained the deck of the _Rambler_, crying that Alex +was back in the forest pursued by the outlaws, Captain Joe laid out a +choice assortment of automatic revolvers along the deck behind the +starboard gunwale. The dripping boys crouched down and waited. + +"He wasn't very far behind us," Case said directly. + +"Yes," Jule put in. "He ought to be here before long." + +Captain Joe, watching the boys whimsically, pushed the revolvers +around so they would be within easy reach. The deck looked like an +armory. + +"You outrun him, did you, lads?" the old captain asked. + +"We wanted to stay back and come in with him," Case explained, "but he +wouldn't have it. He said that if we separated and ran in different +directions, one party would be pretty sure to get in, while we might +all be captured if we stuck together. He was right, of course, but we +hated to leave him. He ought to be here in a minute or two." + +"Did he say where Clay was?" asked Captain Joe. + +"We didn't have much chance to talk with him," Case answered. "The +outlaws were swarming over the peninsula, and kept us ducking and +dodging most of the time. There must be a dozen or more toughs in +there." + +There was no more firing from the shore for a time, and those on board +the _Rambler_ hoped that Alex had succeeded in eluding his pursuers. + +Presently the bushes at the margin of the stream parted and a face +looked out--a heavy bearded face with fierce eyes. + +"Good evening, pard!" Jule called out. "Come aboard!" + +The fellow disappeared without making any reply. + +"That settles it!" Case exclaimed. "We won't see Alex right away. The +outlaws haven't caught him, and so they are watching along the shore +in the hopes of picking him up when he leaves the thicket. I'd like to +throw a stick of dynamite in there and blow up the whole outfit." + +The supposition that Alex would not be seen at that time proved to be +incorrect, however, for a shout was now heard from the launch, and +Alex was seen waving a cap from the cockpit. + +The cap soon disappeared from sight, however, for bullets began +dropping down from the shore. On the _Rambler_, the boys were behind +the heavy gunwales, and Alex was hidden by the cockpit walls so, +beyond splintering the railings and making havoc in the +finely-decorated cabin of the launch, the bullets did no damage. + +"Now, how do you think that little customer got out to the launch +without getting perforated?" asked Case. + +"He swam out, of course," replied Jule, "--he just ducked under and +swam out. I wish we could get him on board the _Rambler_." + +"Now, that tow-line," Case said, "is too long. The boy can't swim +under water all that distance. Can't we pull the launch up?" + +"Nothing in the world to prevent it," said Captain Joe. "If we can get +the end of the line into the cabin, the launch will come up like a +duck. Then Alex can come aboard without much danger." + +This plan was adopted. The _Cartier_ was easily drawn up to the stern +of the _Rambler_ and Alex stepped aboard. + +In a moment he was lying behind the gunwale with the others. + +"Where did you say Clay was?" asked Captain Joe. + +"I haven't seen him for a long time," was the reply. "We saw that +wharf rat, Max, in the forest and I started away to follow him. At +that time Clay was coming toward the boat. I thought he might be +here." + +"And so Max has shown up again, has he?" cried Case. "We'll have to +land that boy where he won't be so active." + +While the boys were discussing the situation a grating, flopping sound +was heard in the cabin, and Jule rushed in just in time to see the +cable which had held the _Cartier_ to the _Rambler_ drawing through +the open window. In the excitement of getting Alex on board, the boys +had neglected to secure the line and the launch was now dropping down +stream. + +Jule sprang for the end of the line, but did not reach it. It dropped +down to the after deck and was drawn into the water. + +"That's a nice thing!" shouted the boy, rushing to the motors. "Now +we've got to go down and catch that boat!" + +It was some moments before the anchor could be lifted and the +_Rambler_ turned and sent down stream, so the _Cartier_ was halfway to +the little bay running in behind the Peninsula before the boys caught +up with her. + +"She won't get away again," Captain Joe declared shortening up the +line and making it fast to the after deck cleats of the motor boat. +"We haven't got any time to go chasing runaway launches!" + +As the old captain spoke, Case laid a hand on his arm and pointed to +the projection on the peninsula behind which Captain Joe had listened +on the night he had left the _Rambler_ during his watch. + +"There's a blaze over there," the boy said. "They must have a lot of +men here to keep a force over there and another one between the two +rivers." + +"Young man," Captain Joe replied, "the man who is responsible for this +whole mix-up is over there on the point, with a band of cutthroats." + +"Why don't they go up and help the others?" asked Jule. + +"It's just this way," Captain Joe replied, "we disappointed them very +much when we got the _Cartier_ out of the water. That rascal on the +point wanted to have the pleasure of raising the boat himself." + +"Then why didn't he do it?" asked Alex. "He had time enough before we +got here." + +"I don't know why he didn't," answered the captain, "but he didn't, +and now he's sore because we got to it first. It seems to me that he +might have ordered his wrecking apparatus here and got the boat out +before we arrived." + +"What do you think he wants of the launch?" Case asked. "According to +all accounts, he's rich enough to buy a dozen." + +"I can tell you about that," Captain Joe replied with a grin. "You +remember when I stood watch one night, and you all said I looked +sleepy the next day. Well, that night, I paddled over to the point and +heard what those people were talking about. There is something on +board the _Cartier_ they want. I couldn't understand exactly what they +said about it, but it is something in some way connected with a safe." + +"The safe on the wall in the lost channel!" laughed Alex. "They think +Fontenelle knows how to get to the safe if he can only get to the lost +channel first." + +"Well, we got to the launch first, anyway," Jule suggested. "And it +strikes me that we'd better go aboard and look her over. Did you see +anything remarkable when you were there, Alex?" he added. + +"Didn't see a thing," was the reply. "I flopped out of the water into +the cockpit and never even looked inside the cabin. I wish now that I +had." + +"Come on, then, let's you and I take a look through the cabin while +Captain Joe and Case run the _Rambler_ back to her old position," Jule +suggested. + +The two boys sprang down into the cockpit, paused a moment to get +their balance and opened the cabin door. As they did so, a scrambling +noise was heard inside, and both were knocked nearly off their feet as +a body launched against them, turned to the railing and shot over into +the river. + +From his position on the deck where he had been thrown by the impact +of the collision, Alex looked up at Jule with a whimsical smile on his +face. + +"Did you see that?" he asked. + +"I felt it," Jule replied, rubbing his head. + +"What did it feel like?" asked Alex + +"Like a battering ram," was the reply. + +"Well," Alex said, "it might have been a battering ram, but it looked +to me like Max, and it's dollars to apples that he caused the +_Cartier_ to start downstream. A few pulls from the water would have +started the line running out." + +"That's just it!" Jule exclaimed. "That's exactly the idea!" + +Captain Joe now leaned over the gunwale of the _Rambler_ and cried +out: + +"Which one of you boys fell overboard?" + +"That was Max," Alex replied. "He's been here in the cabin of the +launch for nobody knows how long, ransacking the lockers and +destroying papers. He must have come aboard about as soon as it was +lifted out of the water. The scamp certainly keeps busy, anyway." + +Captain Joe passed over to the launch, and a long search was made +through the owner's secretary and the drawers and boxes containing +documents. The papers were wet, of course, and many of them were badly +torn, but the purport of each was by no means doubtful. The great mass +consisted of bills, newspaper clippings, personal letters and the +hundred and one memoranda made by the captain and owner of a pleasure +launch. + +"I guess we'll have to give it up," the captain said, after a time. +"There's one good thing about it, and that is that Max didn't meet +with any more success than we did." + +"How do you know?" asked Case. + +"Because," answered the Captain, "he would have been off the boat +before we ever got to it." + +"Perhaps he wasn't here as long as you think he was," Alex put in. +"Clay and I saw him up in the woods when we first went ashore." + +The papers were spread out neatly and left to dry, and everything in +the drenched cabin placed in as good shape as possible. Then the boys +all returned to the _Rambler_, now nearing her old position in the +west river. + +Much to the surprise of all on board, there were no signs of the +outlaws when the boat came to her old anchorage. Night was falling and +there were no indications of hostile influences anywhere. Before +darkness settled down over the scene, the boys drew the _Rambler_ a +little farther up the stream and prepared to pass a watchful and +anxious night. + +Alex proposed that he go ashore with the bulldog and make an effort to +find Clay, but the proposition was instantly vetoed by the others. + +"You'll get lost yourself," Case declared, "and we'd have two boys to +look up instead of one. I think we'd better all stay on the boat." + +"And that's good sense, too," Captain Joe put in. "Clay knows where we +are, and he'll come to us if he can get away. If he doesn't come +during the night, we'll get out after him in the morning." + +"He may be waiting for darkness," Case suggested. "In that case, he +ought to be here soon. He must be hungry." + +"He surely will, and we'll keep supper waiting for him in this cabin +all night," said Alex "When the outlaws had me pinched, they didn't +give me anything to eat. I'll get even for that!" + +The night passed slowly, drearily, and Clay did not come. As the +reader understands, all through the dark hours, the boy lay bound in a +tent not far from the west shore of the east river. + +Shortly after daylight, breakfast being over, the boys began planning +for a visit to the shore. + +The canoe and the rowboat were both on the bank still in plain sight. + +"You swim over and get the boats, Jule," Case said. "You haven't had +as many open air baths as we have since we started on this trip." + +"Now, boys," interposed Captain Joe, "I wouldn't touch those boats if +I were you. If there are any outlaws in those woods at all, they're +watching those boats. The first boy that swims up to one of them will +be captured." + +"Then we've all got to swim," declared Case ruefully. + +"We're getting used to it this time," cried Alex + +"I don't believe there's any one over there," Jule said. "They +wouldn't keep still so long." + +"I notice that you don't get your head up above the gunwale very +often," Alex laughed. + +"Look here, boys," Captain Joe said, pointing out of the cabin window. +"Here's a place where the river widens without any good excuse for +doing so. I talked to Clay about that, and his idea was that an +underground stream runs in in this vicinity. Now, your eyes are better +than mine. Look upstream and see if you can observe any current which +might be made by the flowing in of a subterranean river." + +"You're all right, Captain Joe," Case exclaimed. "You can't forget +that lost channel any more than we can." + +"I don't know whether there's a lost channel or not," the captain +replied, "but I do know that there's a fresh supply of water coming +into this stream right about here." + +Case took a field glass and looked up the stream. + +"There surely is a current starting in close to that bank," he finally +said. "I can see sticks and bubbles popping up from the bottom. +There's a spring there, all right." + +Alex took the glass and studied the river for a long time. Then he +seized Captain Joe by the shoulder and pointed. + +"Say," he said, "there's a nude body coming up out of that eddy Case +saw. You can see it under the water, drifting down this way." + +The boy dropped the glass clattering on the deck and sprang into the +water. + +"Here, here, boy! Come back!" cried Captain Joe. + +"It's Clay!" shouted Jule. "Can't you see it's Clay!" + +In a moment, Jule was in the water, too, and both boys were diving +after the figure they had seen in the eddy. + +They caught it in a moment, and managed to get it to the boat. Captain +Joe and Case supplied ropes, and in an incredibly short space of time, +Clay lay stretched out on the deck. + +"He's dead!" cried Alex "I just know he's dead!" + +"They stripped him of his clothes and threw him in!" wailed Jule. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE LOST CHARTER IS FOUND + + +An instant after being laid on the deck, however, Clay opened his eyes +and smiled up into the faces of his friends. + +"He'll be saying, 'Where am I?' in a minute!" Alex cried, dancing +joyfully about the prostrate figure. "That is the usual thing in +stories, you know. He'll have to say, 'Where am I?' and I'll have to +tell him that he mustn't talk. Look at him grin." + +"What gets me," Captain Joe said, lifting the boy into a sitting +position, "is how you came up from the bottom of the river without +ever diving down to it. It looks uncanny." + +"The lost channel!" answered Clay weakly. + +"You found it, did you?" asked Alex. + +"Boys, boys," said Captain Joe, "never mind the lost channel until we +get this boy dressed and fed up." + +The processes suggested by the captain were quickly accomplished, and +in a short time, Clay sat in the cabin telling of the adventures of +the morning. The boys listened wide-eyed. + +"Now let me get this thing right," Captain Joe said. "You went into a +whirlpool above the falls and came out into a cavern?" + +"That's just it, exactly," Clay replied, still weak from his +exertions. "I landed on a ledge, where I lay unconscious for a few +moments and then followed down the channel of the underground river. +There is plenty of room in the cavern," he continued, "and plenty of +fresh air, but the place is shy on light. I fell many times in the +darkness." + +"I thought it wasn't safe for me to be in there!" grinned Alex. + +"I thought it wasn't safe for me be in there!" Clay replied with a +wink, "and so I made my way out as swiftly as I could. At this end of +the channel, the water runs out just below the surface of the west +river, and I thought I'd better reduce my weight as much as possible +before going through the opening, so I took off my clothes and was +pushed out by the current." + +"Looked mighty funny to see you come floating out of the river without +ever having gone in!" laughed Jule. + +"Now, boys," said Captain Joe, after the boys had discussed all phases +of the situation, "let's size this thing up together. In the first +place, Clay has undoubtedly discovered the lost channel." + +"It might have been found years ago," Clay said, "if the men who tried +to describe it had only said that it was a subterranean stream." + +"And now, the question is," went on the captain, "whether the charter +and the family jewels are anywhere in the cavern through which the +lost stream runs." + +"It seemed to me," Clay broke in, "that the cavern was big enough to +hold a small sized city. It is just the kind of a place where one +would naturally hide valuables." + +"It seems to me," Alex complained, "that the hardest part of our job +is still to come, even if we have discovered the lost channel. We +can't go up there and dive through the whirlpool, as Clay did, because +the outlaws would perforate us before we got anywhere near the falls." + +"I've been thinking of that," Clay said, "and I believe there is a way +to get into the cavern without getting wet. When I lay in the cavern, +high up on the ridge, before being taken to the shore, the men with me +emptied several tin cans of food and pitched them into a corner of the +cavern. One of the cans was sent along with a kick, and I heard a +splash of water when it fell." + +"Je-rusalem!" cried Alex. "Show me where that cavern is, and I'll take +a rope and go through the opening where the can fell!" + +"What would these fellows on shore be doing all the time you were +reaching the cavern?" asked Case. + +"I am certain," Clay went on, "that there is an opening from the floor +of the cavern to the chamber in which the lost river runs, for when I +came down, I saw a blur of light about halfway through the journey." + +"That settles that part of it, then," Captain Joe said. "We'll have to +wait for a suitable opportunity and get into the chamber by way of the +cave. And now," he continued, "I propose that we move out to the bay +or the St. Lawrence, where we won't be under the guns of the enemy, +and cook several square meals. Honest, boys," he went on, "I've been +so worried lately, that I've almost lost my appetite." + +"Yes," Case laughed, "I notice you consumed only half a dozen of those +Bismark pancakes for breakfast." + +The _Rambler_ was dropped down to the bay with the launch still by her +side, and, once out of rifle shot, the boys enjoyed the freedom of the +deck. + +"Now, we'll stay here until night," Captain Joe said, "and then we'll +see what we can do towards finding that cavern and dropping down into +the lost channel. We ought to explore it in one night with the help of +our searchlights." + +The plan mapped out by the captain was successfully carried out. +Leaving Jule on board the _Rambler_, the other members of the party +crept cautiously ashore that night, and were led directly to the +cavern by Clay. They were not disturbed during the journey. Off to the +east, they saw the reflection of a campfire and the sound of many +voices showed the boys that the outlaws were not at all anxious to +conceal their presence. + +The opening leading from the cavern to the channel of the stream was +large enough for even Captain Joe to pass through with comfort. +Directly under the opening was a ledge of rock and here the boys +landed. Almost at the point of entry they saw marks on the wall which +indicated that at some distant time an inscription had been carved +there. + +"We can't read the words," Clay said, flashing his searchlight over +the wall, "but at least it tells us that this is somewhere near the +scene of the old-time operations." + +Alex, who had been poking about around an angle of rock, now gave a +great shout of delight which called the boys to his side. + +"There's your old safe!" he cried, pointing up to a niche in the wall, +"and it's dollars to doughnuts that the lost charter and the jewels +are inside of it!" + +It was the work of only a few moments to bring the safe down from the +ledge of rock to where the boys stood. It was merely a box of steel, +not more than a foot in diameter each way, and was evidently +constructed with thin walls for its weight was not great. However, it +was tightly closed and the boys could see no means by which it might +be opened. There was not even a keyhole or a button. + +"We'll take it back to the _Rambler_," Captain Joe said. "Perhaps we +can find a way to open it there." + +"We'll find a way to open it," Alex exclaimed, "when we get hold of +the document Max was looking for in the cabin of the _Cartier_." + +"Good idea!" Captain Joe replied. "If you wait long enough, you'll +always find something like intelligence in the head of a boy!" + +When the party returned to the cabin, daylight was just showing in the +east and the noisy revel of those at the campfire had ceased. + +"I tell you what it is," Captain Joe exclaimed, "those fellows have +given up chasing us for the reason that they have arrived at the +conclusion that we don't know any more about the lost channel than +they do. At first, they doubtless thought the map might direct us to +it, but now they have given up that idea, and are satisfied to let us +hunt for the lost charter if we want to." + +"Yes, but they are still watching us, all the same," Clay replied, +"expecting to take the proceeds of the discovery away from us if we +are lucky enough to find what both parties are seeking for." + +This explanation of Captain Joe's seemed to be the correct one, for +the boys were not molested while on their way to the _Rambler_ with +the steel box. Having secured the box, the question now was how to get +it open, so nearly all that day, they searched among the papers in the +cabin of the _Cartier_ for some clue to the mystery. Before night it +was found in a bundle of old papers stowed away in a secret draw at +the bottom of the owner's secretary, where it had lain for a long +time. + +"This is easy," Clay said holding the paper up between his thumb and +fingers. "The box is only an old French puzzle box. Press on the upper +right hand front corner and a button will show. Press the button and +the box will open, and there you are." + +"What the dickens do you think the Fontenelles left this paper laying +around in a place like this for?" asked Case. "Do you suppose they +knew what it was?" + +"Of course they knew," Clay answered, "and the paper was brought along +so that the box might be opened as soon as found." + +Although the hinges and lock of the steel box were rusted, it was +opened with little difficulty and there were the family jewels and the +lost charter! In spite of difficulties, the boys had succeeded in +their quest. The search of more than three hundred years was ended! + +When the _Rambler_ and the _Cartier_ started away toward Quebec, they +left the men who had opposed them still on the peninsula. Reaching the +city, they lost no time in communicating the result of their +expedition to the Fontenelles. It is needless to say that the latter +were overjoyed at the recovery of the charter and the jewels. + +At the close of the interview between the elder Fontenelle and Clay, +the former wrote a check for ten thousand dollars and passed it over +to the boy. Clay smiled as he passed it back. + +"You remember," he said, "that we recovered the _Cartier_, and that we +searched her papers pretty thoroughly to discover the secret of the +steel box. Well, Captain Joe, our old friend from Chicago, has +conceived a great liking for the boat, and if you can induce your son +to give us the launch, and also to make no trouble for the poor people +who will suffer under this charter, we shall consider ourselves amply +repaid for all our trouble. It has been a pleasant excursion, anyway." + +"So far as the boat is concerned," the old man Fontenelle replied, +"you are entitled to it as salvage. Besides, now that the charter and +the jewels have been discovered, through your agency, the _Cartier_ +will no longer be elaborate enough for my son. He will have a handsome +yacht built, anyway, so you may as well take the launch. So far as +making trouble for those who have occupied our lands for years goes, +no one shall suffer except those who combined their wealth to obstruct +us. + +"And so you see," he continued, "that the check is yours after all." + +And the old gentleman would not accept "No." for an answer. + +"One thing I should like to know," Clay said, before leaving Mr. +Fontenelle, "and that concerns the mysterious map we received and the +manner in which it came into our possession." + +"I can set you right on that point," the old man said. "The man who +gave you the map and who was drowned that same night was long in our +employ. He finally became angry at some fancied slight and disappeared +taking with him valuable papers. It is believed that the crude map +delivered to you was among the papers he took. At any rate, on the day +before you saw him, he expressed to a relative remorse at what he had +done and promised to restore the papers. How he came to deliver the +map to you, knowing the _Cartier_ as well as he did, is something +which will never be known." + +The boys left Quebec the next morning without waiting for the return +of the men who were still looking for the lost channel on Cartier +island. Therefore they never saw either Lawyer Martin or Max again, +but they read later in the news dispatches of Max being sentenced to +the penitentiary for highway robbery. + +The boys went over the old ground on the river again to Ogdensburg, +where the _Cartier_ was fully equipped with new electrical apparatus +and then the two started away on their long journey up the lakes. + +Captain Joe, was, of course, overjoyed at becoming the owner of the +launch, which is now one of the show vessels on the South Branch. + +Captain Joe, the bulldog, and Teddy when in Chicago alternate between +the _Rambler_ and the _Cartier_, having a welcome on either boat. + +The boys were not content to remain long on the South Branch. In fact, +within a few days, they fitted the _Rambler_ out for a trip down the +Ohio river. What occurred during this trip will be related in the next +volume of this series entitled: The Six River Motor Boat Boys on the +Ohio; or, the Three Blue Lights. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + +***** This file should be named 38450-8.txt or 38450-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/5/38450/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/38450-8.zip b/38450-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a0ed2ab --- /dev/null +++ b/38450-8.zip diff --git a/38450-h.zip b/38450-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bf7f923 --- /dev/null +++ b/38450-h.zip diff --git a/38450-h/38450-h.htm b/38450-h/38450-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..aae016e --- /dev/null +++ b/38450-h/38450-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,8616 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> + <meta name="generator" content="pph (1.16)"/> + <meta name="title" content="The Six River Motor Boat Boys On the St. Lawrence"/> + <meta name="author" content="Harry Gordon"/> + <meta name="date" content="1913"/> + <title>The Six River Motor Boat Boys On the St. Lawrence</title> + <style type="text/css"> + p.center {text-align:center} + p.caption {text-align:center; margin-left:20%; margin-right:20%;} + h2.chapter {font-size:1.2em; text-align:center; margin: 2em auto 1em auto; font-weight:normal} + </style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence + The Lost Channel + +Author: Harry Gordon + +Release Date: December 31, 2011 [EBook #38450] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<div style='text-align:center'> +<img id='ilink01' src='images/illus-001.jpg' alt=''/> +<p class='caption'>The wave caught the <i>Rambler</i> broadside, and in an instant she was beached high and dry on the bar.</p> +</div> +<hr style='border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:70%; margin:2em auto' /> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.5em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOAT</p> +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.5em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE</p> + +<p class='center' style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:0;'>OR</p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:0;'>THE LOST CHANNEL</p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:3em;margin-bottom:0;'>By HARRY GORDON</p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:0em;'><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>Author of</span></p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippiâ€</p> +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Coloradoâ€</p> +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Amazonâ€</p> +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbiaâ€</p> +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohioâ€</p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:0;'>A. L. BURT COMPANY</p> + +<p class='center' style='margin-top:0em;margin-bottom:0;'>NEW YORK</p> +<hr style='border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:70%; margin:2em auto' /> + +<p class='center' style='margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>Copyright, 1913</p> + +<p class='center' style='margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'><span style='font-variant:small-caps'>By A. L. Burt Company</span></p> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:0.8em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE</p> +<hr style='border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:70%; margin:2em auto' /> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.2em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>CONTENTS</p> + +<table id='toc' style='margin:auto' summary='TOC'> +<tr><td> + <a href='#clink01'>I—A Mysterious Visitor</a><br/> + <a href='#clink02'>II—A Treacherous Guest</a><br/> + <a href='#clink03'>III—Arrested for Piracy</a><br/> + <a href='#clink04'>IV—Concerning a Lost Channel</a><br/> + <a href='#clink05'>V—Teddy Gives an Exhibition</a><br/> + <a href='#clink06'>VI—Captain Joe Takes a Prisoner</a><br/> + <a href='#clink07'>VII—Case Has His Doubts</a><br/> + <a href='#clink08'>VIII—The Discovery of Max</a><br/> + <a href='#clink09'>IX—A Busy Night in Quebec</a><br/> + <a href='#clink10'>X—The Menagerie in Action</a><br/> + <a href='#clink11'>XI—The Crew Takes a Tumble</a><br/> + <a href='#clink12'>XII—Rivermen With a Thirst</a><br/> + <a href='#clink13'>XIII—A Meeting at Montreal</a><br/> + <a href='#clink14'>XIV—An Old Friend Appears</a><br/> + <a href='#clink15'>XV—Through the Famous Rapids</a><br/> + <a href='#clink16'>XVI—A Call from Wreckers</a><br/> + <a href='#clink17'>XVII—Captain Joe’s Night Visit</a><br/> + <a href='#clink18'>XVIII—It Is Now Clay’s Turn</a><br/> + <a href='#clink19'>XIX—A Splash of Water</a><br/> + <a href='#clink20'>XX—Lifting a Sunken Launch</a><br/> + <a href='#clink21'>XXI—Down in the Whirlpool</a><br/> + <a href='#clink22'>XXII—What the Eddy Brought Up</a><br/> + <a href='#clink23'>XXIII—The Lost Charter Is Found</a><br/> +</td></tr> +</table> +<hr style='border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; width:70%; margin:2em auto' /> + +<p class='center' style='font-size:1.4em;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;'>THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink01'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER I—A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR</a></h2> + +<p>It was dark on the St. Lawrence River at nine +o’clock that August night. There would be a moon +later, but the clouds drifting in from the bay might +or might not hold the landscape in darkness until +morning. The tide was running in, and with it +came a faint fog from the distant coast of Newfoundland.</p> + +<p>Only one light showed on the dark surface of +the river in the vicinity of St. Luce, and this came +from the deck of a motor boat, anchored well out +from the landing on the south side of the stream, +fifty miles or more from Point des Montes, which +is where the St. Lawrence widens out to the north +to form the upper part of the bay of the same +name.</p> + +<p>The light on the motor boat came from an +electric lamp set at the prow, six feet above the deck. +It showed as trim and powerful a craft as ever +pushed her nose into those waters.</p> + +<p>Those who have followed the adventures of the +Six River Motor Boat Boys will not need to be +told here of the strength, speed and perfect equipment +of the <i>Rambler</i>. The motors were suitable +for a sea-going tug, and the boat had all the conveniences +known to modern shipbuilders. She had +carried her present crew in safety up the Amazon +to its source, down the Columbia from its headwaters, +through the Colorado to the Grand Canyon, +and down the Mississippi from its source to +the Gulf of Mexico.</p> + +<p>All these trips had been crowded with adventure, +but both the boys and the boat had proved equal +to every emergency. At the conclusion of the +Mississippi journey, the boys of the Six River +Motor Boat Club had decided to explore the St. +Lawrence river from the Gulf to Lake Ontario.</p> + +<p>The <i>Rambler</i> had been shipped by rail to a point +on the coast of New Brunswick, and the remainder +of the journey to St. Luce had been made by water +along the treacherous coasts of New Brunswick +and Quebec. A fresh supply of gasoline had been +taken on just before night fell, and on the approach +of daylight the boys would be on their way up the +stream.</p> + +<p>Although it was early August, the night was +decidedly cold, and Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, +Julian Shafer, and Cornelius Witters, the +four boys who had embarked on the trip, were sitting +snugly around a coal fire in the cabin. They +were sturdy, healthy, merry-hearted lads of about +sixteen, all from Chicago, and all without family +ties of any kind so far as they knew. They had +been reared in the streets of the big city, and had +become possessed of the <i>Rambler</i> by a series of +adventures which the readers of the previous +volumes of this series will readily recall.</p> + +<p>The night grew darker as it grew older, and a +strong wind came up from the bay, bobbing the +<i>Rambler</i> about drunkenly. Clayton Emmett—always +just “Clay†to his chums—arose from his +chair after a particularly fierce blast from the wind +and approached the cabin door.</p> + +<p>“Don’t open that door!†shouted Alex Smithwick. +“We’ll be sent smashing through the back +wall if you do. This night makes me think of a +smiling summer day in Chicago harbor,—it’s so +different!â€</p> + +<p>“Company!†Clay answered, excitedly, “We’re +going to have company. Listen!â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†laughed Jule Shafer, “I’ve got a flashlight +of any one rowing out to us to-night. The +river is too rough for a rowboat.â€</p> + +<p>“Now you look here, Captain Joe,†Clay went +on, “don’t you go start anything!â€</p> + +<p>This last remark was made to a white bulldog +of sinister aspect which had arisen from a rug in +a corner of the cabin and now stood at Clay’s +side, growling threateningly. Joe wagged a stumpy +tail in acknowledgment of the advice, but dashed +out, snarling, as Clay opened the door and gained +the deck.</p> + +<p>“All right; go to it!†Alex laughed, as the door +closed behind the two. “Stick out on deck a spell +and the wind will do the rest.â€</p> + +<p>Case Witters—he was never anything but +“Case†to his friends—went to the door and +looked out through the blurred glass, wiping the +inside of the panel with his sleeve in order to get +a clearer view.</p> + +<p>“What’s coming off?†demanded Jule.</p> + +<p>“I hope we’ll be able to get away on one trip +without some one butting in,†suggested Case.</p> + +<p>“Say, now, look at Teddy,†cried Jule, springing +to his feet.</p> + +<p>“Teddy†was a quarter-grown grizzly bear. He +had been captured on the Columbia river, and had +been a great pet of the boys ever since. He now +rose from the rug which he had occupied in company +with Captain Joe, the white bulldog, and +shambled over to the door, against which he lifted +a pair of capable paws in an effort to get a view +of the deck.</p> + +<p>“Rubberneck!†called Alex, digging the cub in +the ribs.</p> + +<p>“You know what you’ll come to if you talk +slang!†Jule grinned. “You’ll have to wash +dishes for a week. We all agreed to that, you +know,†he added as Alex wrinkled a freckled nose +and pointed to the bear cub still trying to look out.</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you let him out?†he asked. “If +the wind blows his hide off, we’ll make a rug of +it. What is Clay doing?â€</p> + +<p>Case did not reply to the question. Instead, he +opened the door, swinging it back with a bang, and +both boy and bear ran out on deck. The first +thing Teddy did was to sit up on his hind legs +and box at the wind, which rumpled his fur and +brought moisture to his little round eyes. Boxing +was one of the accomplishments taught him by the +boys, and he took great pride in it.</p> + +<p>Alex closed the door and, with Jule at his side, +stood looking out on deck. Clay, Case and the two +pets stood at the prow, gazing down on the river.</p> + +<p>Directly the top of a worn fur cap made its +appearance above the gunwale of the boat, followed +almost immediately by the head and shoulders of +a man. Then Alex and Jule both rushed out of +the cabin.</p> + +<p>“He must be a peach, whoever he is, to come off +to us in a canoe over that rough water to-night!†+Alex cried. “I want to see that boat of his.â€</p> + +<p>The boat in which the stranger had put off was +rocking viciously in the stream, and it was some +seconds before he could secure a footing which +promised a successful leap for the deck. When at +last he came over the rail, the boys saw a heavily-built +man with thin whiskers growing out of a +dark face. His eyes were keen and black, and the +hair hanging low down on his wide shoulders, was +black, too, and straight.</p> + +<p>Holding his boat line in one hand, in order that +the craft might not drift away, he searched with +the other hand in the interior pockets of a rough +Jersey jacket for a second, and then brought forth +a sealed package which he handed to Clay. As +the boy took the package, the man who had delivered +it sprang, without speaking a word, to the railing, +hung for a moment with his feet in the air +above the bobbing canoe, dropped, and was almost +instantly lost in the darkness.</p> + +<p>Leaning over the railing of the boat, wide-eyed +and amazed, the four boys stood for a moment +trying to pierce the line of darkness beyond the +round circle of the prow light. Nothing was to +be seen. The boat had come and gone in the darkness. +The packet in Clay’s hands was the only +evidence that it had ever existed. Alex was the +first to speak.</p> + +<p>“What do you know about that?†he shouted.</p> + +<p>“They must have fine mail facilities on the St. +Lawrence!†commented Case.</p> + +<p>“That was only a ghost!†Jule asserted, with +a wink at Alex. “That letter will go sailing up in +the air in a minute.â€</p> + +<p>Clay opened the packet so strangely delivered and unfolded +a crude map of a country enclosed between +two rivers. These rivers, after running close together +for a long distance, spread apart, like the +two arms of a pair of tongs, at their mouths, making +an egg-shaped peninsula which extended far +into the main river. Back from the river shore, on +this rude drawing, a narrow creek cut through the +territory between the two rivers, making the peninsula +an island.</p> + +<p>Below this rude drawing of the rivers and the +peninsula was another of an old-fashioned safe +resting high up in a niche in a rocky wall. The +face of the wall was cross-hatched, to show that +it was in the shadows.</p> + +<p>Below the drawing of the safe, were these +words:</p> + +<p>“At last! Follow instructions. Success is certain. +Map enclosed. Point straight to the north.â€</p> + +<p>The boys gathered closely around Clay, standing +under the brilliant prow light, and examined +the paper, passing it from one to another with +questioning glances.</p> + +<p>“I guess,†Alex said, “that we are drawing +somebody else’s cards.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Case suggested, “that’s a queer kind +of a hand to come out of the night.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps,†Jule observed, “they present travelers +on the St. Lawrence with these little souvenirs +just to excite interest.â€</p> + +<p>“Point straight to the north,†repeated Clay. +“I wonder what that means.â€</p> + +<p>“I’d like to know what any of it means,†Alex +asserted. “It looks to me like some one was butting +in.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Case remarked, “we have started out +on every trip with a mystery to unravel, and here +we go again, loaded up with another.â€</p> + +<p>“You bet we have!†laughed Alex. “We harvested +gold on the Amazon, caught murderers on +the Columbia, found a secret treasure in the Grand +Canyon, and chased pirates on the Mississippi, but +this is the only real Captain Kidd mystery we have +struck yet.â€</p> + +<p>“What shall we do with it?†asked Clay, rattling +the paper.</p> + +<p>“Throw it in the river and be on our way,†proposed +Case.</p> + +<p>“Suppose,†Alex grinned, “there should be a +barrel of money in that safe they’ve made a drawing +of. If there is, we want to get it.â€</p> + +<p>“I think we’d better be going on, just the same,†+Case said. “I’m for dumping this map thing into +the river and forgetting all about it.â€</p> + +<p>“Aw,†Alex cut in, “that would be throwing +away all the fun. I want to go to this ‘North,’ +wherever it is. There may be something funny +doing there.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe, who had been sitting at the prow, +watching the boys with an intelligent interest, now +passed back to the cabin, leaped upon the low roof, +and bounded to the after deck. The boys heard +him growling threateningly for a moment, and +then he came back.</p> + +<p>Teddy, the cub, arose from the place where he +had been lying, sniffed at the gunwale of the boat +for an instant, and walked into the cabin.</p> + +<p>“What’s the matter with our menagerie to-night,†+demanded Alex. “There seems to be +something in the air.â€</p> + +<p>“What do you see, Captain Joe?†asked Clay. +“If it’s a man, and he’s got a letter, you go get it. +Some other fellow may be wanting us to go South, +or East, or West.â€</p> + +<p>As Clay ceased speaking, the splash of a paddle +came faintly from the darkness to the West.</p> + +<p>“Here comes R. F. D. postman number two,†+shouted Alex.</p> + +<p>As the boys listened, the splashings of the paddle +came louder for a moment, then ceased entirely.</p> + +<p>“Hello, the boat!†Alex cried. “Have you got +a letter for us?â€</p> + +<p>No answer came back. There was now a break +in the clouds, and the moon shone sharply down +upon the swirling river, but only for an instant.</p> + +<p>“There he comes!†cried Jule.</p> + +<p>But the moonlight was gone, and the sound of +the paddle was gone, and just at the edge of the +circle of light which came from the prow, an Indian +canoe glided, phantom-like, down the stream and +disappeared.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink02'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER II—A TREACHEROUS GUEST</a></h2> + +<p>“Do you suppose that is the fellow Captain Joe +caught prowling around the stem of the boat?†+asked Jule as the canoe disappeared down the river.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe answered the question by trotting +up to the prow and snarling at the disappearing +canoe.</p> + +<p>“Now, what do you think he wanted here, anyway?†+asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“Possibly he just dropped down to see if we +were ready to start north,†Case observed with a +yawn.</p> + +<p>“It looks to me,†Alex said, “that we have +struck a storm center of some kind, and I’m going +to bed and think it over.</p> + +<p>“I’m glad you’re going to bed,†Clay laughed, +“for you get lost whenever we leave you on watch.â€</p> + +<p>“But I always find myself!†answered Alex, +with a provoking grin.</p> + +<p>It was finally arranged that Case should stand +guard that night, and the others prepared for sleep. +The bunks were let down in the cabin, the prow +light was switched off, and directly all was dark, +save when the moon broke out from a bank of +wandering clouds.</p> + +<p>Sitting well wrapped at the door of the cabin, +shortly before midnight, Clay once more heard the +sweep of a paddle or an oar. He arose and went +to the prow.</p> + +<p>Off to the right, on a point of land below St. +Luce, a column of flame was beckoning in the +gale from the gulf. Only the flame was to be seen. +There was neither habitation nor human figure in +sight under its light. While the boy watched, a +signal shot came from the east.</p> + +<p>Then an answering light came from the north, +and a ship’s boat, four-oared and sturdy, passed +for an instant under the light of the moon and was +lost in the darkness.</p> + +<p>The rowboat had passed so close to the <i>Rambler</i> +that the watching boy could have seen the faces of +the occupants if they had not been turned away. +For a moment he had feared that it was the intention +of the rowers to board the <i>Rambler</i>, but +they had passed on apparently without noticing +the boat at all.</p> + +<p>After following the boat with his eyes for an +instant, he switched on the prow light and turned +to the cabin to awaken his chums. Here was a new +feature of the night which must be considered.</p> + +<p>As he turned toward the cabin, a white package +lying upon the deck caught his eye. It had not +been there a moment before, so the boy naturally +concluded that it had been thrown from the row +boat. He lifted it and, going back under the prow +light, opened the envelope and read.</p> + +<p>“Don’t interfere with what doesn’t concern you. +Go on about your business, if you have any. Life +is sweet to the young. Do you understand? Be +warned. Others have tried and lost.â€</p> + +<p>The puzzled boy dashed into the cabin with the +paper in his hand.</p> + +<p>“Look here, fellows!†he shouted, pulling away +at the first sleeping figure he came upon, “R. F. D. +postman number two has arrived. Here’s the letter +he brought.â€</p> + +<p>He read the message aloud to the three wondering +boys, sitting wide-eyed on their bunks, and +handed the paper to Clay.</p> + +<p>“What about it?†he asked.</p> + +<p>“I reckon,†Alex observed with a grin, “that +we’re going to be arrested for opening some one +else’s mail.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t you ever think this letter wasn’t intended +for us,†Jule declared.</p> + +<p>“And now,†Case said, “I suppose we’ll have +to give up following the orders given in the first +letter. We’re ordered off the premises. See?â€</p> + +<p>“Not for mine,†Alex cried. “You can’t win +me on any sawed-off mystery! I want to know +what this means.â€</p> + +<p>After a time the boys switched off the prow +light, turned on the small lamp in the cabin, and +sat down to consider seriously the events of the +night. While they talked, the clouds drifted away, +and the whole surface of the river was flooded +with moonlight. The flame on the south bank was +seen no more. It had evidently been built as a +beacon for the men in the ship’s boat.</p> + +<p>After a time, Captain Joe, who had been sitting +in the middle of the deliberative circle in the +cabin, raced out to the deck. The boys heard him +growling, heard a conciliatory human voice, and +then a quick fall.</p> + +<p>When the boys switched on the prow light and +gained the deck, they found Captain Joe standing +guard over a slender youth who had evidently fallen +to the deck to escape being tumbled down by the +dog. They gathered about waiting for him to +speak—waiting for some explanation of his sudden +appearance on the motor boat. Captain Joe +seemed proud of his capture, and remained with +threatening teeth within an inch of the boy’s throat.</p> + +<p>“Say, you!†shouted Alex. “Did you come by +parcel post? We’ve been getting letters all right, +but no such packages as this.â€</p> + +<p>“Looks to me like he must have come in a parachute,†+Jule suggested. “Where’s your boat, +kid?†he added.</p> + +<p>The visitor smiled brightly and sprang alertly +to his feet. He looked from face to face for a +moment, smiling at each in turn, and then pointed +to a light canoe bumping against the hull of the +<i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>He was a lad of, perhaps, eighteen, slender, lithe, +dark. His clothing was rough and not too clean. +His manner was intended to be ingratiating, but +was only insincere.</p> + +<p>“What about you?†demanded Alex. “Do you +think this is a passenger boat?â€</p> + +<p>“A long time ago,†replied the visitor, speaking +excellent English, “I read of the <i>Rambler</i> and her +boy crew in the Quebec newspapers. When I saw +the boat here to-night, I ran away from my employer +and came out to you. I want to go with +you wherever you are going.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ve got your nerve!†Alex cried.</p> + +<p>“Oh, let him alone,†Case interposed. “We’ve +had a stranger with us on every trip, so why not +take him along?â€</p> + +<p>Alex took the speaker by the arm and walked +with him back to the cabin.</p> + +<p>“Say,†he said then, “this fellow may be all +right, but I don’t like the looks of his map.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ll wash dishes a week for that,†Case +announced. “You’re getting so you talk too much +slang. Anyway, you shouldn’t say ‘map’—that’s +common. Say you don’t like his dial.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, I guess I’ll have plenty of help washing +dishes,†Alex grunted. “But what are we going +to do with this boy?†he added.</p> + +<p>Clay now joined the two boys in the cabin and +asked the same question.</p> + +<p>“It is my idea,†he said, “that the appearance +of this lad is in some way connected with the other +events of the night.â€</p> + +<p>“What did you find out about him?†asked +Clay.</p> + +<p>“He says his name is Max Michel, and that he +lives at St. Luce,†was the reply.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay decided, “we can’t send him away +to-night, so we’ll give him a bunk and settle the +matter to-morrow.â€</p> + +<p>“I just believe,†Alex interposed, “that this +boy Max could tell us something about those two +boats if he wanted to.â€</p> + +<p>“I notice,†Case put in, “that he’s paying a good +deal of attention to what is going on in the cabin +just now. He may be all right, but he doesn’t look +good to me.â€</p> + +<p>Clay beckoned to Jule, and the two boys entered +the cabin together, closely followed by Captain Joe, +who seemed determined to keep close watch on the +strange visitor.</p> + +<p>“How long ago did you leave St. Luce?†asked +Clay of the boy.</p> + +<p>“An hour ago,†was the answer. “I rowed up +the river near the shore where the current is not so +strong and then drifted down to the motor boat. +I called out to you before I landed, but I guess you +did not hear.â€</p> + +<p>Alex, standing at the boy’s back and looking over +his head, wrinkled a freckled nose at Clay and said +by his expression that he did not believe what the +boy was saying.</p> + +<p>“Did you see a light on the point below St. Luce +not long ago?†continued Clay.</p> + +<p>The boy shook his head.</p> + +<p>“There are often lights there at night,†he said. +“Wreckers and fishermen build them for signals. +But I saw none there to-night.â€</p> + +<p>“What about the four-oared boat that left St. +Luce not long ago?†Clay asked. “Do you know +the men who were in it?â€</p> + +<p>“I didn’t see any such boat,†was the reply.</p> + +<p>“Well, crawl into a bunk here,†Clay finally said, +“and we’ll tell you in the morning what we are +going to do.â€</p> + +<p>The boy did as instructed, and was, apparently, +soon sound asleep. Then the boys went out to the +deck again and sat in the brilliant moonlight watching +the settlement on the right bank.</p> + +<p>There is a railway station at St. Luce, and while +they watched and talked, the shrill challenge of a +locomotive came to their ears, followed by the low +rumbling of a heavy train.</p> + +<p>The prow light was out, and the cabin light was +out, and the cabin was dark now, because when the +boys had sought their bunks, a heavy curtain had +been drawn across the glass panel of the door. +From where the boys sat, therefore, they could see +nothing of the interior of the cabin.</p> + +<p>Five minutes after the door closed on the +stranger, he left his bunk and moved toward the +rear of the cabin. Against the back wall, stood a +square wooden table, and upon this table stood an +electric coil used for cooking. Above the table, was +a small window opening on the after deck.</p> + +<p>The catch which held the sash in place was on the +inside and was easily released. The boy opened it, +drew the swinging sash in, passed through the opening, +and sprang down to the deck.</p> + +<p>Reaching the deck, the visitor, as though familiar +with the situation, ran his hand carefully about his +feet feeling for a closed hatch. He found it at +last and, lifting it, peered into the space set aside +for the electric batteries and the extra gasoline +tanks.</p> + +<p>Reaching far under the planking, he found what +he sought—the wire connecting the electric batteries +with the motors. Listening for a moment to make +sure that his motions were not being observed, he +drew a pair of wire clippers from a pocket and cut +the supply wire. Only for the fact that the lights +on the boat were all out, this villainous act would +at once have been discovered. As it was, the boys +remained at the prow believing the visitor was still +asleep in his bunk.</p> + +<p>This act of vandalism accomplished, the boy +dropped softly over the stern into his canoe, still +trailing in the rear of the motor boat. Once in the +canoe, he laid the paddle within easy reach and propelled +the boat along the hull of the <i>Rambler</i>, toward +the prow with his hands. Once or twice +discovery seemed to the boy to be certain, for Captain +Joe came to the gunwale of the boat and +sniffed suspiciously over the rail.</p> + +<p>Once, Clay left his place at the prow and looked +over into the stream, but the moon was in the south +and a heavy shadow lay over the water on the north +side, so the dark object slipping like a snake to do +an act of mischief reached the prow unseen.</p> + +<p>At that moment the boys left the prow and moved +toward the cabin door. In another instant they +would have entered and noted the absence of their +guest, but Alex paused and pointed to lights moving +in the village of St. Luce.</p> + +<p>“There’s something going on over there,†he +said “and I believe it has something to do with +what we’ve been bumping against. There’s the letter +from the canoe, and the warning from the boat, +and the boy dropping out of the darkness on deck, +and the signal lights, and now the stir in the village. +Some one who wishes us ill is running the scenes +to-night, all right.â€</p> + +<p>While the boys stood watching the lights of St. +Luce, Max caught the manila cable which held the +motor boat and drew his canoe up to it. Cutting +the cable, strand by strand, so as to cause no jar +or sudden lurching of the boat, he left it slashed +nearly through and, leaving the strain of the current +to do the rest, worked back through the shadow +and struck out up stream.</p> + +<p>Standing in the door of the cabin, the boys felt +the boat sway violently under their feet, then they +knew from the shifting lights in the village that +they were drifting swiftly down with the current. +Clay sprang to the motors, but they refused to +turn.</p> + +<p>Case hastened to the prow and lifted the end of +the cable. There was no doubt that it had been cut. +Clay made a quick examination of the motors and +saw that the electrical connection had been broken. +Then Jule called out in alarm that they were drifting +directly upon a rocky island.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink03'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER III—ARRESTED FOR PIRACY</a></h2> + +<p>The <i>Rambler</i>, drifting broadside to the current, +threatened to strike full upon a rocky promontory +projecting from the island which lay in the course +of the boat. In vain Case tugged at the tiller ropes. +There was no steerage way, and the boat was beyond +control.</p> + +<p>“It looks like the last of the <i>Rambler</i>!†Case +cried as the boat drifted down. “The rock ahead +will cut her in two if we strike it.â€</p> + +<p>But there was a current crossing the rocky point +from north to south, and the boat, catching it, was +drawn away, so that in time, she came, stern first, +to the curve of a little channel into which the waters +drew. For a moment, the prow swung out, and +the possibility of a continuation of the vagrant journey +was imminent.</p> + +<p>However, before the sweep of water turned the +prow fairly around, Alex was over the gunwale, +clinging with all his might to the broken cable. Clay +and Jule were at his side in a moment and, half +swimming, half stumbling, quite up to their chins +in the cold water, they held the boat until the current +swept it farther over on the sandy beach that +bordered the cove.</p> + +<p>“There you are!†shouted Alex, wading, dripping, +from the river. “The next time I take a trip +on the <i>Rambler</i>, I’m going to wear a diving suit. +I’m dead tired of getting wet.â€</p> + +<p>“You’re lucky not to be at the bottom of the +river!†Clay announced.</p> + +<p>The rowboat, which lay upon the roof of the +cabin, was now brought down, a cable was taken +out of the store room, and the <i>Rambler</i> firmly +secured to a great rock which towered above the +slope of the cove.</p> + +<p>The boys stood for a moment looking over the +surface of the river, still bathed in moonlight, then +Alex rushed into the cabin and brought out a field +glass.</p> + +<p>“What I want to know just now, is who cut that +cable,†he said.</p> + +<p>“That’s easy,†Jule replied. “It was the innocent +little boy who had read all about the <i>Rambler</i> +in the Quebec newspaper.â€</p> + +<p>Alex swept the river with the glass for a time +and then passed it to Clay.</p> + +<p>“There he goes,†he said, “away up the river, +heading for St. Luce! That’s the boy who disconnected +the electricity and cut the cable. That’s the +boy who we will even up with when we catch him, +too.â€</p> + +<p>“And you’re the boy who’ll wash dishes for a +week for talking slang!†Jule taunted.</p> + +<p>“I’d wash dishes for a month if I could get hold +of that rat,†answered Alex, angrily. “He came +near wrecking the <i>Rambler</i>!â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay said, “we may as well be getting +the motors into shape. We can’t stay on this island +long.â€</p> + +<p>“If we do, there’s no knowing what will happen,†+Jule suggested. “We’ve had two letters and +a runaway to-night and the next thing is likely to +be a stick of dynamite.â€</p> + +<p>“Say, suppose we repair the electric apparatus +and get away from this vicinity right now,†suggested +Case, “I don’t like the looks of things.â€</p> + +<p>“Now, look here,†Alex cut in, “I’m ready to +get out of this section, but do you mind what the +first letter said about going north? Now that +means something. If the first letter hadn’t told us +to go north, and the men who threw the second letter +hadn’t believed that we were obeying instructions, +we wouldn’t have been interfered with. Now, +there’s a friendly force here, and a hostile force. +The friendly people may be mistaken in our identity, +but that doesn’t alter the fact that the hostile +element is out to do us a mischief.</p> + +<p>“I’d like to find out what it is the friendly force +expects us to do. If we can learn that, we’ll know +why the hostile force is opposing us. And so, it +looks to me that instead of running away, we would +better find out what is wanted of us. How does +that strike you, fellows? Isn’t that deduction +worthy of Sherlock Holmes?â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Clay declared, “I’m willing to investigate, +but we mustn’t spend all our time looking +into one mystery, for if we have the same luck we +had on other trips, we are likely to come across several +more before we go back to Chicago.â€</p> + +<p>“I’d like to know,†Case said, as they brought +up an extra anchor and a new cable, “why we were +dumped on this island.â€</p> + +<p>“To get us out of the way, probably,†Jule commented. +“They undoubtedly expected to steal or +wreck the <i>Rambler</i>.â€</p> + +<p>“But the <i>Rambler</i>,†Alex laughed, “has the +luck of the Irish, so she’s still able to travel.â€</p> + +<p>The island upon which the boat had been cast, +lay only a short distance from the south shore of +the river. In fact, at low water, when the tide was +out, it might have been possible to pass to the mainland +on dry ground.</p> + +<p>Its location was not more than two miles below +the little landing at St. Luce. In fact, as the boys +afterwards decided, it must have been from this +island that the signal flame had burned early in the +evening.</p> + +<p>Working busily on the repairs, the boys did not +notice the arrival upon the island of two roughly +dressed fellows, who landed from a small boat and +who took great pains to keep rocky elevations between +themselves and the cove where the boat lay.</p> + +<p>“I wonder,†Jule asked, sitting down on the prow +after a struggle with the new cable, “whether the +stories I have read about wreckers along the St. +Lawrence are true.â€</p> + +<p>While the boys discussed the possibility of +wreckers working along the stream, one of the two +men clambered to an elevation which was in turn +hidden from the cove by a higher one and waved a +red and blue handkerchief toward the shore.</p> + +<p>The tide was now running out, and the channel +between the island and the mainland swirled like a +mill-race. This, however, did not prevent the +launching of a boat from the shore, the same being +manned by four men. They edged along the shore +and then, passing boldly into the current, landed +on the island at a point east of the cove. There +they secreted their boat and moved on toward the +place where the boys, all unconscious of their presence, +were repairing the damages wrought by their +treacherous guest.</p> + +<p>It was Captain Joe who gave the first intimation +of the presence of others on the island. He sprang +from the boat, paddled through the shallow water +between the hull and the shore, and set out for the +elevation where the man who had signaled had been +standing.</p> + +<p>The boys heard a cry of pain, a shout of anger +and a pistol shot, and then Captain Joe came running +back to where the <i>Rambler</i> lay.</p> + +<p>“What was it you said about wreckers?†Case +asked with a startled look. “No beast or bird fired +that shot!â€</p> + +<p>“I was only wondering,†Jule answered, +“whether there are really wreckers at work along +the river. That’s the answer!â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay said, “we’ll get on the boat to talk +it over! In the meantime, we’ll be putting space +between the <i>Rambler</i> and this island. If ever a +wrecker’s beacon told where to lure a boat to be +plundered, that flame we saw on the island told our +sneaking guest when to cut the <i>Rambler</i> loose!â€</p> + +<p>The boys hastened on board and Clay ran to the +motors. At that instant, four men made their appearance +on the ledge above the cove, beckoning +with their hands and calling out to the boys that +they had something of importance to say to them.</p> + +<p>“They look to me like triple-plated thieves,†+Alex commented, “and I wouldn’t be caught on +an island with them for a farm.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe seemed to approve of this decision, +for he stood with his feet braced, growling furiously +at the beckoning men.</p> + +<p>“Boat ahoy!†one of the men cried. “We have +a message for you.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Case answered, “you may send it +by wireless.â€</p> + +<p>“But it is important!†came from the man.</p> + +<p>During this brief conversation, the motors were +slowly drawing the <i>Rambler</i> out of the sandy cove, +the electric connection having been made, and the +men were rapidly approaching the shore. The boat +moved slowly, for the keel was dragging slightly +in the sand, and the wreckers, if such they were, +stood at the water’s edge before the craft was more +than a dozen yards away.</p> + +<p>Directly, all appearance of friendship ceased, and +the men stood threatening the boys with automatic +guns.</p> + +<p>“Run back!†one of the men cried, “or we’ll +pick you off like pigeons!â€</p> + +<p>The boys had already taken their automatic revolvers +from the cabin, and now, instead of obeying +the command of the outlaws, they dropped +down behind the gunwale and sent forth a volley +not intended to injure, but only to frighten.</p> + +<p>Apparently undismayed by the shots, the outlaws +passed boldly down the shore line seeking to keep +pace with the motor boat as she drew out of the +cove. Every moment the motors were gaining +speed. In another minute, the <i>Rambler</i> would be +entirely beyond the reach of the outlaws.</p> + +<p>Apparently hopeless of coercing the boys into a +return, the outlaws now began shooting. Bullets +pinged against the gunwale and imbedded themselves +in the walls of the cabin but did no damage.</p> + +<p>A tinge of color was now showing in the east. +Birds were astir in the moving currents of the air, +and lights flashed dimly forth from the distant +houses of St. Luce. Against the ruddy glow of the +sky, a river steamer lifted its column of smoke. +Observing the approach of the vessel, the outlaws +redoubled their efforts to frighten the boys into instant +submission.</p> + +<p>However, the <i>Rambler</i> was gaining speed, and +the incident would have been closed in a moment if +the connection made between the batteries and the +motors had not become disarranged. In the haste +of making the repairs, the work had not been properly +done.</p> + +<p>The propeller ceased its revolutions and the boat +dropped back toward the cove. Evidently guessing +what had taken place on board, the outlaws gathered +at the point where it seemed certain that she +would become beached.</p> + +<p>Understanding what would take place if the +motor boat dropped back, the boys fired volley after +volley in order to attract the attention of those on +the steamer. There came a jangling of bells from +the advancing craft, and she slowed down and +headed for the point. The outlaws fired a parting +volley and disappeared among the rocks.</p> + +<p>The steamer continued on her course toward the +little island, but paused a few yards away and the +boys saw a rowboat dropped to the river. The +<i>Rambler</i> continued to drift toward the beach she +had so recently left and the rowboat headed for +that point.</p> + +<p>Fearful that the boat would again come within +reach of the outlaws, Clay and Case now rushed to +the prow, and threw the supply anchor over just in +time to prevent a collision between a nest of rocks +and the stern of the boat.</p> + +<p>The outlaws were now out of sight, and the boys +felt secure in the protection of the steamer, but +directly the situation was changed, for a show of +arms was seen on board the rowboat, and the boys +were suddenly ordered to throw up their hands.</p> + +<p>“You fellows are nicely rigged out—fine motor +boat, and all that,†one of the men in the boat +shouted, “but the days of river pirates on the St. +Lawrence are over. You are all under arrest.â€</p> + +<p>“Gee whiz!†shouted Alex. “Is this what you +call a pinch?â€</p> + +<p>“It is what we call a clean-up,†replied one of the +men in the boat, rowing up to the <i>Rambler</i>. +“We’ve been watching for you fellows, and now +we’ve got you.â€</p> + +<p>“And what are you going to do with us?†asked +Clay restraining his anger and indignation with difficulty.</p> + +<p>“We’re going to take you up to Quebec and put +you on trial for piracy!â€</p> + +<p>“That’ll be fine!†Jule commented.</p> + +<p>The boys tried to smile and make light of the +situation as the four men from the steamer boarded +the <i>Rambler</i>, but they all understood that it was a +very serious proposition that they were facing.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink04'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER IV—CONCERNING A LOST CHANNEL</a></h2> + +<p>The men from the steamer took possession of +the <i>Rambler</i> impudently, acting like ignorant men +clothed with small authority. The boys were +ordered to the cabin and the door locked.</p> + +<p>“We left our manacles on board the Sybil,†one +of the men announced, “or we’d rig you out with +some of the King’s jewelry.â€</p> + +<p>“We’ll overlook the slight for the present,†Case +flared back, “but you be sure and bring the jewels +at the first opportunity.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ll get them quick enough,†snarled one of +the men. “Three days ago we received notice that +you were coming, and we’ve been watching for you +ever since. You came along just in time to be nicely +trapped.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you mean that you were watching for the +<i>Rambler</i>?†asked Clay, lifting his voice in order +that he might be heard through the glass panel of +the door. “I’d like to have you tell me about +that.â€</p> + +<p>“No one knew the shape you would come in,†+was the gruff reply. “We only knew that a band +of pirates and wreckers who had been luring vessels +on the rocks along the bay was preparing to +visit the St. Lawrence. Perhaps you will tell me +where you stole this fine boat?â€</p> + +<p>“They must have a big foolish house in this +province,†Alex taunted, “if all the King’s officers +are as crazy in the cupola as you are.â€</p> + +<p>“Let them alone,†urged Clay. “No use in talking +to men of their stripe. Wait until we get to the +captain of the steamer.â€</p> + +<p>The sailors continued to question the boys, resorting +now and then to insulting epithets, but the +lads sat dumbly in the cabin until the arrival of +Captain Morgan, in charge of the steamer Sybil. +To express it mildly, they were all very much elated +at the appearance of Captain Morgan, who unlocked +the cabin door, called them out on deck and greeted +them pleasantly. They all wanted to shake hands +with him.</p> + +<p>“It seems,†Clay said to the captain, as the latter +motioned to the sailors to move up to the prow, +“that your men have captured a band of bold, bad +men. It was a daring thing for them to do!â€</p> + +<p>The captain laughed until his sides shook, and +the men, gathered on the forward part of the deck, +scowled fiercely, to which the captain paid no attention +at all.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps there is an excuse for the men,†Captain +Morgan finally said, suppressing his laughter. +“We heard firing as we came up the river, and +wreckers are known to be about.â€</p> + +<p>“If you have any doubt as to the presence of +wreckers,†Clay explained, “just send your ruffians +over on the island. The men who did most of the +shooting are there. They may also be able to find +the ashes of the signal fire the outlaws lighted.â€</p> + +<p>“That will be good exercise for them,†Jule cut +in, “and perhaps they won’t be so brave when they +find they haven’t boys to deal with.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you mean to tell me that the wreckers are +now on the island?†asked the captain. “If they +are, we may yet be able to make a capture.â€</p> + +<p>“They were on the island just before you came +up,†Clay answered, “and I presume they are there +yet. We’ll help you take them.â€</p> + +<p>The captain laughed and looked critically at the +slender, well-dressed youngsters, then his eyes +turned to the white bulldog and the bear, now sniffing +suspiciously at his legs.</p> + +<p>“It seems to me,†he said, “that I have heard of +this outfit before! When I came aboard I thought +I recognized the name of the <i>Rambler</i>. This menagerie +of yours settles the point. You brought +Captain Joe, the dog, from Para, on the Amazon +and Teddy, the cub, from British Columbia.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ve got it,†Alex cried, “but how did you +come to know so much about us? We rather expected +to get away from our damaged reputations +up here,†he added with a wink and a grin.</p> + +<p>“You have long been famous in these parts,†the +captain answered, “Ever since the <i>Rambler</i> came +riding up to the Newfoundland coast on a flat car. +It is a wonder that my men did not recognize you.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t believe they can read,†laughed Alex. +“Suppose you send them over on the island to see +if they can recognize some of the outlaws.â€</p> + +<p>One of the sailors approached Captain Morgan, +saluted, and pointed to the narrow channel between +the island and the mainland. The sun was now +shining brightly in the sky, and the whole landscape +lay bright under its strong and rosy light. Half +way across the channel, its rays glinted on splashing +oars, and from the shore came hoarse commands.</p> + +<p>“There are men leaving the island, sir,†the sailor +said. “Perhaps we did get hold of the wrong fellows.â€</p> + +<p>“I should think you did,†laughed the captain, +“but there may be time to correct the error. Signal +to the steamer for more men, and drift down +in your boats. You may be able to capture some +of those outlaws, and,†he added with a smile as +the sailor turned away, “don’t forget that there is +a reward offered for every one of them.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we’d better go with the men,†suggested +Case. “We aren’t anxious to get where +there’s shooting going on, but we need the money.â€</p> + +<p>“I prefer,†the captain replied, “that you come +on board the Sybil with me. I’ll have the cook get +up a fine breakfast, and you boys can tell me all +about your river trips. I have always been interested +in such journeys and have long planned to +take one myself.â€</p> + +<p>The boys readily agreed to this arrangement, +Alex declaring that it would save the washing of +at least one mess of dishes, and all were soon seated +in the captain’s cosy room.</p> + +<p>“I’ll wait here an hour,†Captain Morgan said, +“to give my men a chance to gather in some of the +rewards, but after that I must be on my way. +We shall be late now, on account of this delay.â€</p> + +<p>The boys briefly described their river trips on +the Amazon, the Columbia, the Colorado and the +Mississippi, and were rewarded with a breakfast +which Alex admitted was almost as good as he +could cook himself.</p> + +<p>“And now,†Clay said, as they all stood on the +deck, watching the sailors returning empty-handed +from their quest of the outlaws, “I wish you would +tell me what all this rural free delivery business +we’ve encountered means. We’ve been puzzling +over it all night.â€</p> + +<p>As he spoke he handed the first letter—the one +delivered by the mysterious canoeist—to the captain, +who smiled as he looked at it.</p> + +<p>“I’ll tell you about that,†he said. “There is a +man over in Quebec who claims that he owns about +half of the province under a grant of land made to +Jacques Cartier in 1541 by Francis I. of France. +This grant, or charter, he claims, was confirmed to +his family, the Fontenelles, in 1603 by Samuel de +Champlain, who was sent to Canada by de Chaste, +upon whom King Louis XIII. had generously bestowed +about half of the new world.</p> + +<p>“Fontenelle claims that all the kings and presidents +of France from 1541 down to the present +time have confirmed this grant so far as certain +mineral and timber properties are concerned. For +years Fontenelle has been trying to gain possession +of the original charter brought to this country by +Cartier, but has never succeeded.â€</p> + +<p>“Would he secure a large amount of property +if he found it?†asked Alex. “How did it ever +become lost?â€</p> + +<p>“It disappeared from Cartier’s hands,†was the +reply. “It is believed that the recovery of the +original charter would make the Fontenelles very +wealthy, especially as the family jewels, worth millions +of francs, are said to have been lost with the +important document.â€</p> + +<p>“I think they had their nerve to send family +jewels to America in 1541,†Case cut in. “Might +have known they would be lost.â€</p> + +<p>“You must remember,†Captain Morgan replied, +“that for years during and following the reign of +Francis I. the protestant persecutions kept France +in a turmoil. It was hinted that the Fontenelles did +not favor these persecutions and that the jewels +were shipped to the new world for greater safety. +What I am telling you now, remember, is only +tradition, and not history. To be frank with you, +I will say that I don’t believe it myself. It is too +misty.â€</p> + +<p>“It is interesting, anyway,†Clay declared, “and +I’d like to hear more about it, but tell me this—why +should the Fontenelles, or their agents, send this +letter to us? And why should they send it, if at +all, in so mysterious a manner?â€</p> + +<p>“I have heard,†Captain Morgan replied, “that +an expedition for the recovery of this original charter +was being fitted out at Quebec. Your boat may +have been mistaken for the one carrying the +searchers.â€</p> + +<p>“Searching in this wild country?†questioned +Alex. “Where do they think this blooming charter +is, I’d like to know?â€</p> + +<p>Captain Morgan took the crude map into his +hands and pointed to an egg-shaped peninsula reaching +out into the St. Lawrence between the mouths +of two rivers.</p> + +<p>“There is said to be a lost channel somewhere in +that vicinity,†he said, “and tradition has it that +the papers and the jewels were hidden on its shore. +The searchers, for years, have been in the hope of +finding this lost channel. They have never succeeded.â€</p> + +<p>“Then we’re almost on the ground,†cried Jule. +“Where do we go to reach this peninsula? We +might be lucky enough to find this channel.â€</p> + +<p>“It doesn’t exist,†smiled Captain Morgan. +“Every inch of that country has been gone over +with a microscope, almost, and there is no lost +channel there. At least, it can’t be found.â€</p> + +<p>“There is one on the map, anyway,†Alex observed.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay laughed, “we have been mixed up +with some one else’s affairs on every one of our +river trips, and we may as well keep up the record, +so I propose that we spend a few days looking for +this lost charter and these family jewels.â€</p> + +<p>The boys all agreed to the proposition, and even +Captain Morgan seemed to gain enthusiasm as they +talked over their plans.</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t mind being with you,†the captain +said, “but of course, I can’t go. However, if you +keep on across the river, straight to the north, you’ll +come to the egg-shaped peninsula. Keep to the right +of it, and you’ll enter a broad river. This map +shows you where the lost channel is claimed to have +existed. Go to it, kids, and good luck go with +you!â€</p> + +<p>“Now then that point is settled,†Clay smiled, +taking the second letter from his pocket, “tell us +what this means.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Morgan looked over the paper carefully +before making any reply. His face clouded and an +expression of anger came to his eyes.</p> + +<p>“The fact of the matter is,†he said, “that for +two hundred years the Fontenelles have met with +opposition in their search for the lost channel. +Some of the land claimed under the charter is now +held by innocent purchasers who believe their title +to be perfect.</p> + +<p>“There is no doubt that such might come to a +fair understanding with the Fontenelles if the charter +should ever be found, but it is alleged that an +association has been formed by the wealthier persons +who are interested to defeat any attempt made +to discover the charter. They claim, of course, that +with the charter in their possession the Fontenelles +would be able to make their own exorbitant terms.â€</p> + +<p>“I knew it!†Alex cried. “We are in between +two hostile interests again! It always happens that +way. But we like it!â€</p> + +<p>“I have been thinking,†Captain Morgan went +on, “that the men who attempted to wreck the +<i>Rambler</i> are not river pirates at all, but men sent +here to obstruct, as far as possible, those in search +of the lost channel. It certainly looks that way.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay remarked, “they haven’t got any +motor boat, and we’ve got one that can almost beat +the sun around the earth, so we’ll just run away +from them. In an hour after you leave here, we’ll +be in the east river looking for the channel which +is said to have connected it in past years with the +one paralleling it on the west.â€</p> + +<p>The sailors who had been searching now reported +to the captain that no strangers had been seen by +them on the island, and it was agreed that the outlaws, +whether wreckers or men employed to obstruct +the search for the lost channel, had taken +to the south shore. Captain Morgan shook the +boys warmly by the hand as they parted.</p> + +<p>“If you say any more about your plans,†he said, +“I’ll be going with you. Already I can sense the +smoke of your campfire, and smell the odor of the +summer woods. There are fine fish up in those +rivers, boys, great shiny, gamy things that fight +like the dickens in the stream and melt like butter +in the mouth.â€</p> + +<p>“We’ll send you out some,†promised Clay, and +the steamer’s boat carried the boys back to the +<i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>The needed repairs were soon accomplished, and +when night fell the motor boat lay under a roof of +leaves in a deep cove on one of the rivers behind +the egg-shaped peninsula. Just above the anchorage +the water tumbled, from a high ledge. The boys +had no idea of remaining on board that night, so +they built a roaring campfire on shore and stretched +hammocks from the trees.</p> + +<p>“Right here,†Clay said as the moon rose, “right +about where we are sitting, there may be a lost +channel!â€</p> + +<p>“That’s all right,†grinned Alex, “but I don’t +see myself getting very wet sitting on it.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t blame any old channel for getting lost +in this wild country,†Case contributed. “We’ll be +lucky if we don’t get lost ourselves. Hear the owls +laughing at us!â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve been listening to the owls,†Clay said, “and +I have concluded that they are fake owls. If you’ll +listen, you will hear signals.â€</p> + +<p>The boys listened for a long time, and then above +the rush of the river and the murmur of the leaves +in the wind, came a long, low call which seemed to +them to be a very bad imitation of owl talk.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink05'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER V—TEDDY GIVES AN EXHIBITION</a></h2> + +<p>“There is one sure thing,†Clay said, as the boys +listened, “and that is that we have got to watch the +<i>Rambler</i> to-night. I propose that we take down +the hammocks and go back to our bunks.â€</p> + +<p>“It’s a shame to sleep in that little cabin,†Alex +protested, “when we’ve got the whole wide world +to snore in. Suppose you boys remain here on +shore, and let me stand guard on the boat.â€</p> + +<p>“That will be nice!†Jule laughed. “Alex +always gets his soundest sleep when he’s on guard.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t you worry about me,†Alex said, “I’ll +keep awake, all right. Besides, I want to hear the +owls talk.â€</p> + +<p>“I think we would better all go back to the <i>Rambler</i>,†+Clay advised. “We can anchor her farther +out in the stream, leave one on guard, and so pass +a quiet night. It looks risky to leave the boat where +she is.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps that’s what we ought to do,†Alex +agreed, giving Jule a nudge in the ribs with his +elbow. “Who’s going to stand watch?â€</p> + +<p>“I will,†Case offered. “I’ll sit up until daylight, +and then you boys can get up and catch fish +for breakfast.â€</p> + +<p>“I want a fish for breakfast two feet long,†+Alex declared. “I’ll catch it and cook it in Indian +style. That will be fine!â€</p> + +<p>“How do you cook fish a la Indian?†asked +Case.</p> + +<p>“Aw, you know,†Alex replied. “First, you +get your fish; then you dig a deep hole in the ground +and fill it full of stones. Then you build a roaring +fire on the stones. Then you wrap your fish up +in leaves and put it on the hot stones and cover it +up. Then, if you want it to cook quick, you must +build a fire on top. They sell fish cooked in that +way at two dollars an order in Chicago.â€</p> + +<p>“Cook it any way you want to,†Clay said, “only +don’t muff it the way Case does when he tries to +make biscuits. We’ll be hungry.â€</p> + +<p>Taking down the hammocks, the boys moved back +to the <i>Rambler</i>. Clay, Alex, and Jule, after listening +in vain for a time for more signals from the +woods, finally went to their bunks, leaving Case +sitting on the deck, across which a great tree on the +east bank threw a long blur of shade.</p> + +<p>Clay and Jule were soon sound asleep, but Alex +lay awake listening. There was a notion at the +back of his brain that the signals heard had been +treated too lightly. He knew that Clay, always +active and ready for any emergency, considered the +party secure in midstream, but he was by no means +satisfied that the best steps for the protection of +the boat had been taken.</p> + +<p>After a time he arose, dressed himself, and softly +slipped out on deck, leaving the rest sleeping in the +cabin.</p> + +<p>“It isn’t morning yet,†Case said, speaking out +of the shadow. “Why don’t you go back to bed? +You’ll be sleepy to-morrow.â€</p> + +<p>“Have you heard any more owl talk?†asked +Alex.</p> + +<p>“Not a line,†replied Case. “Go on back to +bed.â€</p> + +<p>Alex did go back to bed, but could not sleep. +Presently the long-expected owl-call came from +the north, and then Teddy rubbed his soft nose +against the boy’s hand.</p> + +<p>“What do you want, old man?†whispered Alex. +“Does that hooting warn you of danger, too?â€</p> + +<p>The cub put his paws upon the edge of the bunk +and tried to answer in bear talk that it did.</p> + +<p>“All right,†Alex said, “I’ll just go out and see +about it.â€</p> + +<p>When he reached the deck for the second time, +Case stood at the gunwale listening. The call came +again from the woods.</p> + +<p>“Now you hear it, don’t you?†asked Alex, +scornfully. “I reckon you fellows would sit around +here and let those wops carry off the boat.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, haven’t they got to show up before we +can do anything to them?†asked Case reproachfully. +“I guess they have.â€</p> + +<p>“I’d like to know what they are doing,†Alex +wondered, “and I just believe I could sneak out +and learn something about it. It makes me nervous, +waiting here for them to get in the first blow.â€</p> + +<p>“If I had a house and lot for every time you’ve +been lost on our river trips,†Case grinned, “I’d +own the biggest city in the world. You go back to +bed, or I’ll get Clay out here to tie you up.â€</p> + +<p>Teddy now came sniffing where the two boys +stood, and, lifting his paws to the gunwale, looked +over in the forest.</p> + +<p>“See that!†Alex exclaimed. “Even the bear +knows there is something wrong on! If you’ll keep +that twirler of yours still for a little while, I’ll go +and see what it is.â€</p> + +<p>“You’re the wise little sleuth!†Case declared. +“Go on back to bed and dream that you’re Nick of +the Woods.â€</p> + +<p>“Tell you what,†Alex said, “we’ll tie a line to +the rowboat, and I’ll row ashore, then you pull the +boat back, and I’ll creep out in the thicket and see +what I can discover. I believe those outlaws will +gather around the campfire. Anyway, they’re +foolish if they don’t.â€</p> + +<p>“If you take my advice,†Case said, “you won’t +go, but if you insist on it, I’ll draw the boat back, +for our own protection.â€</p> + +<p>Very reluctantly, then, Case assisted in getting +the boat into the river, found a long line to attach +to the prow, and helped the boy away on his journey. +He felt guilty for aiding in the adventure.</p> + +<p>Alex landed in a thicket almost straight west of +the <i>Rambler</i>, and at once secreted himself. No signals +had been heard for some moments, and the boy +believed that he had reached the shore without attracting +attention. Case drew the boat back and +sat waiting.</p> + +<p>Alex remained perfectly still in his hiding-place +for some moments. There was only the noises of +river and forest. To the west, the embers of the +campfire made a faint red glow in the moonlight.</p> + +<p>Just as the boy was about to move out of the +thicket, he heard a heavy splash in the river, followed +by words of command and entreaty from +Case. The splashing continued, and presently the +bushes at the edge of the stream were moved by an +entering body.</p> + +<p>“That’s Captain Joe!†thought Alex. “He’s +always ready for a run in the woods. I suppose I +ought to send him back.â€</p> + +<p>But it was not Captain Joe that thrust a wet nose +into Alex’s hand. It was Teddy, the bear cub, and +his greeting was so friendly and sincere that all +thoughts of sending him back to the boat vanished +from the boy’s mind. Teddy shook the water from +his coat like a great dog, and cuddled up to the boy +as if thanking him.</p> + +<p>“You’re a runaway bear,†Alex whispered to +the cub, “and I ought to send you back, but I’ll +just see if you know how to behave in the kind of +society I am going to mix with. Will you be +good?â€</p> + +<p>Teddy declared in his best bear talk that he would +be good, and the boy and the cub lay in the thicket, +still listening, for a long time before moving. Then +Alex crept toward the campfire.</p> + +<p>When he came to a considerable rise in the center +of the ground between the two streams, he found +that the ground was broken and rocky. It seemed +to him that a great crag had formerly risen where +he stood, and that some distant convulsion of nature +had shattered it.</p> + +<p>To the south, between the rivers and at no great +distance from the egg-shaped peninsula, ran a long, +rocky ridge. Making his way to this, he secreted +himself in the shadow of a boulder and settled down +to watch and listen.</p> + +<p>After a time Teddy grew impatient at the inactivity +thus forced upon him, and began moving restlessly +about.</p> + +<p>“Bear!†warned Alex, “if you make any more +racket here, I’ll send you back to the boat. We’re +supposed to be sleuthing!â€</p> + +<p>Teddy evidently did not like the idea of being +sent back to the boat, or of keeping still either, so +he almost immediately disappeared, notwithstanding +Alex’s efforts to detain him by main force. The +boy called to him in vain.</p> + +<p>“Now,†thought Alex, “the cub has gone and +done it! He’ll thrash around in the woods and scare +my outlaws away. I wish I had tied him up on +the boat. I might have known he would make +trouble.â€</p> + +<p>The boy waited a long time, but the cub did not +return. Now and then he could hear him moving +about in the thicket.</p> + +<p>“He’s just laughing in his sleeve at me!†complained +the boy. “I wish I had hold of him!â€</p> + +<p>Directly a sound other than that made by the +bear came to the ears of the listening boy. Some +one was creeping towards his shelter. He could +see no one, for the shadows were thick at the +point from which the sounds proceeded, but presently, +he heard a voice.</p> + +<p>“They went back to the boat,†some one said +gruffly.</p> + +<p>“That’s all the better for us,†another spoke.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know about that,†the first speaker +said.</p> + +<p>“Why, we’ll just cut her out and take boys and +boat and all.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s easier said than done,†was the reply. +“Those boys are no spring chickens. They have +guns and they know how to use them.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†the other chided, “it isn’t my fault that +they went back to the boat. If you hadn’t been +giving your confounded signals, they would have +slept by the fire and everything would have been +easy.â€</p> + +<p>Alex listened with his heart beating anxiously. +There was no longer any doubt that the right construction +had been placed on the signals which had +been heard. The outlaws who had attacked them in +the cove were now on the peninsula, ready to make +trouble.</p> + +<p>While the boy listened for further conversation, +a rustling in the thicket at the base of the cliff told +him that Teddy, the cub, was still in that vicinity. +He chuckled at the thought which came to him.</p> + +<p>“I wish I had the little rascal here,†he mused. +“I think he might be able to do something in the +line of giving those fellows exercise! I wish I +could get over to him.â€</p> + +<p>The boy started in the direction of the sound, +but paused when he heard one of the men saying:</p> + +<p>“Where are the others?â€</p> + +<p>“Down on the river shore,†was the reply.</p> + +<p>“Then what is all that noise?†demanded the +other.</p> + +<p>“I don’t hear any noise,†was the surly reply.</p> + +<p>“There is some one moving in the bushes.â€</p> + +<p>“Then it must be one of the boys,†Alex heard, +“and I think we had better investigate. It would +be luck to catch one of them.â€</p> + +<p>“It wouldn’t be any luck for me to be caught,†+thought Alex, “and so I’ll just make a sneak back +to the boat. I’ve learned all I wanted to know, +anyway.â€</p> + +<p>He started away, but almost at his first motion a +stone became detached from the ledge at his side +and went thundering down toward the spot from +which the voices had proceeded.</p> + +<p>“There!†one of the men cried, “I told you there +was some one here.â€</p> + +<p>Together the men immediately rushed to the +spot where Alex lay hidden. They rustled through +the bushes without any attempt at concealment, +scrambling up the acclivity with the use of both +hands and feet.</p> + +<p>As they advanced another rustling came from the +left, and Alex saw Teddy on the way back to his +side. The moon, creeping farther to the south, +found an opening in the dense foliage above the +ledge, and threw a long shaft of light upon the +exact spot where Alex lay, revolver in hand, waiting +for the expected attack.</p> + +<p>He moved out of this natural limelight hastily, +but as he did so another figure entered it. Advancing +swiftly, the men who had discovered the +location of the boy, saw him disappear and saw the +new figure which came upon the scene. They +stopped instantly.</p> + +<p>To their excited imaginations Teddy, standing +somewhat above their heads, seemed to be at least +nine feet high! Evidently trying to propitiate +Alex for running away from him, the cub set +about practicing all the stunts the boys had been +teaching him for months.</p> + +<p>Standing upon his hind legs, he extended his +paws in a boxing attitude and pranced about, as he +had been taught to do, in all the attitudes of the +prize ring. The hair on his neck and back seemed +to bristle with anger. His little round eyes, bright +in the moonlight, twinkled viciously!</p> + +<p>The men who were watching this trained exhibition, +held their breaths in terror. They expected +to be attacked by the animal immediately. Directly, +they began backing slowly away. Then +Teddy broke into his pet amusement, a whirling +half-dance and they turned and ran, stumbling +down the declivity, brushing through the briars +and clinging vines of the thicket, and finally disappearing +in the shadows farther upstream!</p> + +<p>It did not take Alex long to find his way to the +cub.</p> + +<p>“You certainly are enough to scare the life out +of a stranger,†he said, addressing the bear. “If +you don’t mind, now, we’ll go back to the boat. +We’ve got news for the boys, at any rate.â€</p> + +<p>But Teddy was not inclined to go back to the +close cabin. He wanted a longer run in the woods. +Before Alex could seize the collar which had been +placed about his neck, he was away again. Alex +pursued him for some distance, and then turned +back toward the boat.</p> + +<p>When he reached the shore and called softly to +Case to row the boat over to him, there was no +answer from the craft, as the rush of the river +drowned his voice, but a most unexpected one +came from the shore back of him. He turned +quickly to see the barrel of a gun shining in the +moonlight. He reached for his own weapon, but +a hand caught his wrist and held it, as if in a grasp +of iron.</p> + +<p>“All right, kid,†a harsh voice said, “if they +don’t want you on your boat, we’ll give you a home +on ours. We’ve got the snuggest little craft upstream +you ever saw. You’re welcome to it, only it +may be dangerous for you to try to get away or +make any noise!â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink06'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER VI—CAPTAIN JOE TAKES A PRISONER</a></h2> + +<p>Case waited patiently a long time for the return +of his chum. When it came near midnight he decided +to awaken Clay and inform him of the situation. +The latter was out of his bed instantly.</p> + +<p>“He shouldn’t have gone,†the boy said, anxiously. +“There is no doubt that he is in trouble of +some kind. I’m sorry for this!â€</p> + +<p>“Well, he would go,†Case urged, “and he +promised to go only to the shore and look around. +Just after he left, Teddy splashed off the boat and +ran into the thicket. I presume the two are together.â€</p> + +<p>“Of course they’re together,†said Clay, “That +is, if Teddy hasn’t been discovered and shot. That +is likely to happen.â€</p> + +<p>“What shall we do?†asked Case anxiously.</p> + +<p>“It isn’t much use to go into the thicket after +him,†Clay decided. “There is plenty of moonlight +here, it is true, but the foliage must make it +very dark in the forest. It would be like looking +for a special pebble on the beach to try to find him +now. We’ll have to wait.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps Teddy will come and bring us news,†+suggested Case. “I have known him to do such +things. He’s a wise little bear.â€</p> + +<p>There was no more sleep on board the <i>Rambler</i> +that night. With the first flush of dawn Clay and +Jule were abroad in the forest, leaving Case on +watch. Although they searched patiently for a +long time, no trace of the missing boy could be +discovered.</p> + +<p>Here and there were tracks which must have +been made by Teddy, but it was not certain that the +two had been together. After a time the boys returned +to the bank of the river just above the location +of the <i>Rambler</i>. There they found where a +boat had been drawn up to the bank.</p> + +<p>“I don’t see how they ever got a boat by us,†+Clay argued, “but they certainly did, for they +couldn’t have got here first. They must have +sneaked up the east shore in the shadows and +landed above the <i>Rambler</i>. Are you sure that no +boat passed down after Alex left?†he asked of +Case. “One might have drifted down without +making much noise.â€</p> + +<p>“I was awake every minute of the time,†Case +insisted, “and no boat passed down. When the +moon swung around to the south, the whole river +was illuminated. I would have seen any craft that +passed.â€</p> + +<p>“Then it is certain that the intruders are still +up river, perhaps above the falls, and I am afraid +that Alex is where they are. That little rascal is +always getting lost! He should have remained on +board.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes, he gets lost,†admitted Case, loyally, +“but he always comes out on top in the end. There +wouldn’t be any fun if Alex and Teddy were not +always getting into trouble. It sort of keeps things +moving!â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay concluded, “the place to look for +the boy is, as I said before, upstream. Now, the +question is, shall we take the <i>Rambler</i> up?â€</p> + +<p>“I am afraid the motors would declare our presence,†+Case observed, speaking from the deck of +the boat, “and, besides, we couldn’t go very far on +account of the falls, so, perhaps, we would better +go up as far as we can in the rowboat, making as +little noise as possible.â€</p> + +<p>“And what’s the matter with putting Captain +Joe on shore?†asked Jule. “He may be able to +point out the spot where the men left the river. +Anyhow, it won’t do any harm to try.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s a good idea,†declared Clay, “and I’ll +go along with him.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m afraid you’ll find it pretty rough walking +along that bank,†Case suggested, “for the country +is rocky and leads up to the plateau above the +falls, and small streams may run in from the peninsula. +You might have to swim when you wasn’t +climbing hills.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ll try it a short distance, anyway,†Clay answered, +“and you, Case, remain on board and let +Jule row up in the boat.â€</p> + +<p>This arrangement was carried out, and in a short +time, the little boat was moving upstream, with +Jule pulling cautiously at the oars. Clay found +the bank a difficult one to ascend. He was obliged +to wade through small creeks and climb rocky +heights, but he kept steadily on his way, with Captain +Joe at his heels.</p> + +<p>At last, they came to a creek which ran into the +river at the foot of the falls. On the south side of +this creek, for some distance in, was a level, grassy +plateau, and here Captain Joe picked up the scent +they were looking for. The south bank showed +that a boat had recently been drawn up there.</p> + +<p>Disregarding, for the time being, all commands +from the boy, the dog raced up the small stream, +and finally disappeared in a thicket.</p> + +<p>Clay hesitated, undecided as to whether he +ought to follow the dog at once or return to notify +Jule of his discovery and secure his assistance.</p> + +<p>He had already lost sight of the dog, so he concluded +that he might as well return to Jule. This +he did, and in a short time, the boat was anchored +at the mouth of the creek, and the boys were pressing +on into the thicket. Captain Joe was nowhere +in sight.</p> + +<p>“They certainly are on this side of the creek,†+Clay reasoned, “for they couldn’t very well make +progress on the other side unless they traveled in +an aeroplane.â€</p> + +<p>There were no tracks to follow, no indications +of any one having passed that way recently, but the +boys kept pluckily on, listening now and then for +some sign from the dog.</p> + +<p>“If he finds Alex,†Jule declared, “he’ll make +a note of it, and we’ll hear a racket fit to wake the +dead.â€</p> + +<p>“And that will warn the outlaws of our approach,†+said Clay in a discouraged tone of voice. +“Perhaps we did wrong to bring the dog.â€</p> + +<p>“You may be sure Captain Joe will give a good +account of himself,†Jule said confidently. “He +may make a racket, but it’s dollars to apples that +they won’t catch him.â€</p> + +<p>In a short time the clamor the boys had been expecting +came from the forest beyond. Captain Joe +was barking and growling and, judging from the +commotion in the copse, was evidently threshing +about.</p> + +<p>“That’s a scrap,†Jule declared. “Perhaps he +has caught one of the men. If he has, I hope he’s +got him by the throat.â€</p> + +<p>Pressing into the interior of the forest, the level +grassy plateau having long since disappeared, the +boys finally came to a small cleared glade and discovered +the cause of Captain Joe’s enthusiasm.</p> + +<p>Teddy, the cub, was standing with his back to +the hole of a giant tree inviting the dog to a boxing +match. Captain Joe’s clamor indicated only delight +at the meeting with his friend.</p> + +<p>Before showing themselves in the glade, the +boys looked in every direction for some indication +of the outlaws, but there was no sign of human +life anywhere near them. No noise, save the cries +of the creatures of the air and the jungle.</p> + +<p>“You’re a fine old scout, Captain Joe,†whispered +Clay as he finally advanced into the glade. +“You notify everybody within a mile of us as to +our location, but you don’t do a thing to help us +find Alex.â€</p> + +<p>At mention of the lost boy’s name, Teddy +dropped down from his antagonistic attitude, and, +thrusting a soft muzzle against Clay’s hand, moved +away to the west.</p> + +<p>“The cub has more sense than the dog,†Jule +exclaimed. “Captain Joe makes a noise, and +Teddy does the piloting. Do you suppose he knows +where Alex is?†he added.</p> + +<p>“It seems to me that he is trying to tell us something,†+Clay replied. “Anyway, we may as well +follow him.â€</p> + +<p>Teddy, who was an especial favorite of Alex’s, +and never lost an opportunity of following him +about, appeared to know exactly where he was +going, for he maintained a steady pace for half an +hour or more, keeping to the south shore of the +creek for a time and then crossing on a fallen tree +to the opposite bank.</p> + +<p>“Now,†said Clay, “we ought not to follow +close behind the cub. He makes as much noise as +a freight train going up a steep grade, and we’ll be +sure to be seen if the outlaws are anywhere about.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps he will go on alone,†Jule suggested.</p> + +<p>“In that case, we can skirt his track and remain +hidden. That ought not to be very difficult in this +broken country.â€</p> + +<p>Teddy turned about with an inquiring glance as +the boys left his side, but soon proceeded on his +course. Fearful that Captain Joe would indulge +in another demonstration of some kind, the boys +kept him with them, Jule keeping a close hold on +his collar.</p> + +<p>“This doesn’t seem much like a river trip to +me,†Jule grinned as they passed over rocks, +sneaked through miniature canyons and threaded +thickets alive with briers and clinging vines. +“Seems more like an overland expedition to the +north star.â€</p> + +<p>“There is one compensation,†Clay added humorously. +“Alex will get good and hungry—and +serve him right at that.â€</p> + +<p>“Huh!†Jule declared, “Alex is always hungry +anyway.â€</p> + +<p>Teddy now quickened his pace so that the boys +had great difficulty in following him. He ran with +his nose to the rough ground, his short ears tipped +forward, for all the world like a hound on a scent.</p> + +<p>“Look at the beast!†Jule laughed. “Acts like +he was a hound after foxes. That’s some bear, +Clay.â€</p> + +<p>“So far as I know,†Clay answered, “he’s the +only cub that ever did a stunt like that. Still, he’s +only exhibiting the advantages of an early education, +for he has long been trained to follow us.â€</p> + +<p>After a short time the boys, advancing up a +ledge and then into a little gully, came upon Teddy +lying flat on the ground, his nose pointing straight +ahead. When they came to him Captain Joe +pulled fiercely to get away, his nose pointing +straight to the north.</p> + +<p>“I guess,†Jule panted, holding to the dog with +all his strength, “that they have located Alex. If +you’ll take charge of this obstreperous animal for +a while, I’ll sneak ahead and have a look.â€</p> + +<p>Clay finally succeeded in quieting the dog, and +Jule pushed on up the gully. At the very end, +where the depression terminated in a wall of rock, +he saw a faint column of smoke. A closer approach +revealed a small fire of dry sticks with +something cooking in a tin pail over the coals.</p> + +<p>Jule stopped and considered the situation seriously.</p> + +<p>“Now, I wonder,†he thought, “why Teddy +didn’t make a fool of himself by rushing right up +to Alex. I don’t believe he’s scared of the men, +and, to tell the truth, I don’t see any men to be +frightened at. Alex seems to be there alone. +Wonder why he doesn’t run.â€</p> + +<p>The reason why Alex didn’t run was disclosed +in a moment. The boy’s hands were tightly bound +across his breast and a strong rope encircled his +ankles. For a moment there was no one in sight +save the boy, then a roughly dressed man came +into view carrying an armful of dry wood for the +fire. Jule heard both the dog and the cub protesting +at being kept away from the fellow, and saw +the man turn sharply about.</p> + +<p>Then there came another revelation. With +bound arms swinging out, and bound feet kicking +violently, Alex was ordering the two animals +away. Well trained as they were, they protested +while they obeyed.</p> + +<p>“Is that that bear of yours, again?†Jule heard +the man asking. “If I wasn’t afraid of attracting +attention, I’d put a bullet into him. Call him up +here and keep him quiet while I gather more dry +wood. The boys will be here in an hour or so and +will want breakfast.â€</p> + +<p>“That settles it,†whispered Jule. “If the boys +are so far away that they won’t be back in an hour +or more, they won’t find any cook when they return. +If I have my way, the cook will be tied up.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Alex said in reply to the fellow’s +order, “I’ll call him up and keep him quiet after +you go away. He’s been used to polite society and +doesn’t like you!â€</p> + +<p>The man snarled out some surly reply and disappeared. +Jule was at his chum’s side in a moment. +The ropes were cut, and the two boys were +speeding back to where Clay had been left.</p> + +<p>There was a little scene of congratulation, and +then Captain Joe, growling fiercely, leaped forward. +The man who had gone in search of wood +must have heard the noisy greetings of the boys, +for he came running back to the fire. The boys +saw him throw a hand back for a weapon, heard +an exclamation of anger, and knew that the dog +was springing at his throat.</p> + +<p>The struggle was a short one, for the man who +had been attacked had not succeeded in reaching his +revolver. When the boys reached the scene the +man was black in the face and the dog was shaking +him viciously by the neck.</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe seems to know who his friends +are!†Alex shouted.</p> + +<p>“If we don’t break his hold in a minute, the +man will be dead,†Jule exclaimed, dancing excitedly +about, “and we’re not out to commit murder.â€</p> + +<p>When the clutch of the dog was finally released, +the man lay back, panting, on the ground. An examination +of his injury showed that it was not +serious, his throat having been compressed rather +than torn.</p> + +<p>In a moment the man sat up and glared about +with murder in his protruding eyes. Seeing the +dog still watching him, he gave him a vicious kick +and came near inviting a repetition of the attack.</p> + +<p>“I’ll kill that dog!†he shouted.</p> + +<p>“No, you won’t!†laughed Alex. “We’re going +to take that dog out of this blooming country. +We’re going to tie you up so you won’t over-exert +yourself while in your present weakened condition, +and streak it for the motor boat. We’ve had +enough of this blooming election precinct.â€</p> + +<p>This program was carried out so far as moving +back toward the motor boat was concerned, but +when, after a long, hard journey, they came to +the place in the river where the <i>Rambler</i> had been +left, it was nowhere to be seen. Satisfied that Case +had not proceeded up the river—the falls would +have prevented a long run up—they all entered the +rowboat and passed on down toward the St. Lawrence.</p> + +<p>“Talk about getting lost!†grinned Alex. +“Case has gone and lost the boat!â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink07'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER VII—CASE HAS HIS DOUBTS</a></h2> + +<p>As may well be imagined, Case was waiting impatiently +on board the <i>Rambler</i> while the events +described in the last chapter were taking place in +the forest. It is one thing to face a desperate situation +in the company of helpful friends. It is +quite another to consider a grave peril alone, especially +when chums are in danger.</p> + +<p>Several hours passed, and Case heard nothing +from the wanderers in the forest. Then an unexpected +visitor arrived. The boy saw an Indian +canoe paddled swiftly up the river.</p> + +<p>He had not had a good chance to observe the +visitor who had cut the cable, thus bring about the +meeting with the steamer people, but it was his +opinion that the canoeist was none other than the +boy who had given his name as Max Michel. He +anxiously awaited the arrival of the craft.</p> + +<p>“If that is Max,†he thought, “he certainly has +a well-developed nerve to come back to the <i>Rambler</i> +after doing what he did.â€</p> + +<p>In a short time the canoe, coming steadily upstream, +touched the hull of the motor boat, and +its occupant clambered alertly to the deck. Case +stood for a moment regarding him with disapproval, +no welcome at all in his face. The boy approached +with a confident smile.</p> + +<p>“What are you doing here?†demanded Case.</p> + +<p>“I came,†was the quick reply, “because I have +news which may interest you. I know you have +good reason to doubt my friendship, but I hope +you will listen to me. It will be in your interest to +do so.â€</p> + +<p>“News of my friends?†asked Case quickly, +forgetting in the impulse of the moment that the +boy’s information was more than likely to be misleading. +“Have you seen any of the boys to-day?â€</p> + +<p>“No,†was the slow reply, “but I have heard +from them. They crossed the peninsula early this +morning, were lured into a boat passing down a +parallel stream, and must now be somewhere on or +near the St. Lawrence.â€</p> + +<p>“How do you know all this?†demanded Case +half-angrily.</p> + +<p>“Ever since the night I cut your cable,†Max +began, “I have been more than ashamed of myself. +I was ordered to do the work, and believed that +there was nothing else for me to do except to obey. +I was not far from St. Luce yesterday when you +boys went aboard the <i>Sybil</i>. The steamer touched +at St. Luce and I afterwards heard the captain +telling a friend of meeting you. Then I decided to +return to you, if you were still in this vicinity.â€</p> + +<p>“And so you come here and tell me a fairy tale +about my chums?†Case exclaimed. “You don’t +expect me to believe a word you say, do you?â€</p> + +<p>“And yet it is the truth,†Max insisted. “I was +up this morning early, paddling across the St. Lawrence, +for I knew from the Captain’s conversation +that you were over here. Not long ago I came +upon a boat leaving the river to the west. From +the man who was rowing, I learned that your +friends had been attacked and captured.â€</p> + +<p>Case still doubted. He did not like the look in +the eyes of the boy. He remembered the treacherous +act which had sent the disabled <i>Rambler</i> drifting +down the St. Lawrence. He thought fast for +a moment and then asked abruptly:</p> + +<p>“Will you tell me what your interest is in this +matter?â€</p> + +<p>“What do you mean by that?â€</p> + +<p>“Why did you cut our cable?â€</p> + +<p>The boy hesitated a moment, glanced casually +over the west bank of the stream and then lowered +his eyes to the deck.</p> + +<p>“I was ordered to do so,†he said in a moment.</p> + +<p>“Ordered to disable our motors and cut our +cable?†demanded Case indignantly. “Don’t you +know that you might have been the cause of our +death? Is everything you have told me to-day +just as true as the fairy tales you told us that +night? You may as well be frank.â€</p> + +<p>Again the boy hesitated. To Case it seemed that +he was listening for some sound or signal from the +shore.</p> + +<p>“Will you tell me,†continued Case, “who it +was that ordered you to cut our cable and disable +our motors?â€</p> + +<p>The boy shook his head. His manner was now +anxious and uneasy, and Case turned his own eyes +toward the shore which was being watched so +closely.</p> + +<p>“I can’t give you the name of my employers,†+the boy finally said.</p> + +<p>“Then tell me this,†insisted Case. “Why did +the men who ordered you to do the work want it +done?â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,†was the brief reply.</p> + +<p>“I presume,†Case went on, “that you would +have destroyed the <i>Rambler</i> with a stick of dynamite +if you had been told to do so.â€</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t have committed murder,†was the +quick reply.</p> + +<p>“Now let us get back to your story of to-day,†+Case said. “Who was it that told you of the capture +of my chums?â€</p> + +<p>“I can’t tell you that.â€</p> + +<p>“Was it one of your employers?â€</p> + +<p>“It was not.â€</p> + +<p>“Was it a man with whom you are acquainted?†+asked Case.</p> + +<p>“I never saw him until to-day,†he replied.</p> + +<p>“How did he come to speak to you of the boys +at all?â€</p> + +<p>“He mentioned that he had seen three boys evidently +under a restraint in a boat with three men +farther up the stream.â€</p> + +<p>“So the boat held three men and three boys? +Anyone else?â€</p> + +<p>“He did not mention any one else.â€</p> + +<p>“And the six people were the sole occupants of +the boat, were they?â€</p> + +<p>“That is what the man told me.â€</p> + +<p>“Before you concocted this story,†Case declared +scornfully, “you ought to have jogged your +memory a trifle. You saw Captain Joe and Teddy +on board the <i>Rambler</i> the night you cut our cable. +Why didn’t you add to your story and say that +the dog and the bear were with the three boys?â€</p> + +<p>“The man I saw said nothing to me about the +dog and the bear,†Max insisted stubbornly. “I +had only a moment’s talk with him.â€</p> + +<p>“And then you came directly to the <i>Rambler</i> to +tell me of the incident?â€</p> + +<p>“I came directly to the spot where I believed the +<i>Rambler</i> would be,†was the answer. “Of course, +I didn’t know exactly where you were, but Captain +Morgan said that when you left him it was your +intention to ascend this stream. I was lucky in +finding you.â€</p> + +<p>“And now,†Case asked, with a scornful smile +on his lips, “what do you expect me to do under +the circumstances? What would you advise?â€</p> + +<p>“I thought,†replied Max, “that you would go +down the river, and make your way to the mouth +of the other stream.â€</p> + +<p>“Why do your employers want me to leave my +present location?†asked Case. “Do they want +the boys to come out of the forest and find the +<i>Rambler</i> gone? Is that what you were sent here +for?â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, well,†Max exclaimed, “if you don’t believe +what I say, and won’t take advantage of the +honest information I have given you, I may as well +be on my way.â€</p> + +<p>He moved toward the gunwale of the boat, as he +spoke and began untying the line which held his +canoe to the <i>Rambler</i>. Case stepped forward and +laid a detaining hand on his shoulder.</p> + +<p>“Just a moment,†the boy said. “You are not +going to leave the <i>Rambler</i> until my chums return, +and perhaps not then.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you mean that you intend to keep me prisoner?†+flashed Max.</p> + +<p>“That is just exactly what I mean to do,†Case +responded. “I don’t know what your object in +coming here really is, for I believe that as a prevaricator, +you have Ananias backed off the board. +I dislike to use the shorter and uglier word, Max, +but you certainly are the greatest liar I ever came +across. You’ll stay here until we know more about +you.â€</p> + +<p>“You’d better do a little thinking before you +keep me here,†Max threatened. “You are making +a lot of trouble for yourself.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ll have to risk that,†Case replied. “Have +you got any weapons about your person? If you +have, give them up.â€</p> + +<p>Max shook his head angrily.</p> + +<p>“If I had had a weapon,†he declared, “you +would have known all about it the minute you laid +a hand on my shoulder.â€</p> + +<p>“Will you promise to remain on the boat without +attempting to escape if I leave you your liberty?†+Case asked.</p> + +<p>“I will promise nothing!†was the ugly reply.</p> + +<p>“All right,†Case said.</p> + +<p>There was a rush and a little struggle, but in the +end, Max was overcome and stowed away bound +hand and foot in the cabin.</p> + +<p>Leaving his prisoner there, foaming with rage +and searching a limited vocabulary for words to +express his feelings, Case went out to the prow of +the <i>Rambler</i> and sat down to think over the situation.</p> + +<p>“That boy,†he mused, “was sent here to induce +me to take the <i>Rambler</i> out of this place. Why?â€</p> + +<p>The boy considered the problem for a long time. +He was hoping that some of his chums would make +their appearance. He disliked very much to take +the <i>Rambler</i> away from the place where they had +left it, and still there might be a grain of truth in +what Max had said.</p> + +<p>The day was bright and still. The deep green +foliage of the forest shone and shimmered in the +sun. There were birds in the air, and here and +there timid creatures of the jungle came out to the +stream to drink and peer with questioning eyes at +the stranger who had invaded their leafy retreat. +There were no signs of human life anywhere except +on board the <i>Rambler</i>. The continued absence +of the boys seemed unaccountable.</p> + +<p>“Well,†the boy decided, presently, “I’ll take a +chance on a visit to the St. Lawrence. It won’t +take long to run down, swing up to the other end +of the peninsula and investigate the west stream. +If the boys come back while I am gone, they’ll +probably hear the motors clamoring and know that +I am not far away. Still, I don’t think they’ll +come.â€</p> + +<p>Case was slowly reaching the uncomfortable +conclusion that the boys had, indeed, been +overcome by the outlaws. In that case, his first act +ought to be to secure help. If he returned to the +St. Lawrence, he might meet a friendly captain +who would be willing to assist him in the rescue.</p> + +<p>So, with this idea in his mind, the boy drew up +the anchor, started the motors to popping and +headed the <i>Rambler</i> down stream. The boat proceeded +at full speed, and soon the arm of the bay +which closed in behind the peninsula came in view.</p> + +<p>Anchored there, in a sheltered cove on the north +shore of the river, was a trim little launch. Case +could see four men moving about in the cockpit at +the rear of the little trunk cabin. He immediately +directed the <i>Rambler</i> toward the craft and hailed +across the water. He was answered promptly.</p> + +<p>“Is that the <i>Rambler</i>?†was asked.</p> + +<p>“The <i>Rambler</i> it is,†answered Case. “Are +you looking for her?â€</p> + +<p>“Not especially,†was the reply. “We were +told that you were here by Captain Morgan, whom +we saw up the river.â€</p> + +<p>“Come aboard,†invited Case, and in a few moments +two bright-looking young men ascended +from a small boat to the deck of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>“I am Joseph Fontenelle,†one of the young +men said, “and this is my friend, Sam Howard. +We were just going up the river when we saw you +coming down. Are you alone on board?â€</p> + +<p>“My friends are somewhere back in the forest,†+Case explained, certain that it was safe to trust the +visitors. “I seem to have lost them.â€</p> + +<p>“Then we have probably arrived just in time,†+Fontenelle went on. “As you probably know from +my name, we are here on the old search for the +charter. Captain Morgan, I am told, related the +story to you. For myself, I have little faith in the +quest, but father insists that I make a try to solve +the mystery every summer. This is my third visit +to what we call Cartier island. I expect to make +them annually as long as father lives.â€</p> + +<p>“You have no faith in the story of the lost charter +and the missing family jewels?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“Oh, they were lost, without doubt, and possibly +in this country, but there is no clew whatever +to their whereabouts.â€</p> + +<p>Case was wondering if the Fontenelles had a +copy of the crude map which had been so mysteriously +brought to the <i>Rambler</i>. He was wondering, +too, if it would be safe for him to tell this youthful +representative of the French family all that he +knew of the two communications and the attacks +which had been made on the <i>Rambler</i>. The question +was virtually settled by Fontenelle himself.</p> + +<p>“I am told,†the young man said, “that you +boys were placed in peril by being mistaken for +us.â€</p> + +<p>“We had a scrap with river pirates, if that is +what you mean,†Case replied, “and Captain Morgan +helped us to get away from them.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m afraid,†Fontenelle went on, “that the +men you term ‘river pirates’ are pirates only for +the purpose of this occasion. We have always +been opposed in our quest for what father calls +the lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“Opposed everywhere in your searches?†Case +asked, “or opposed only when you come to this +section?â€</p> + +<p>“Opposed only in this vicinity,†answered Fontenelle, +gazing keenly at the boy. “I see what you +mean,†he added. “At least, your inference is +that those who are opposing us really know more +about the location of the charter and the jewels +than we know ourselves, and that they believe them +to be here.â€</p> + +<p>“That is the way it seems to me,†Case answered, +“still if they think they know that the property +sought for is in this vicinity, their knowledge +fails when they try to put their hand upon it. They +can only hope for success in case of your failure, +and so they oppose your every effort.â€</p> + +<p>“That is the way in which we look at it,†Fontenelle +replied. “In fact, father is positive that +the search for the charter goes steadily on in this +vicinity throughout most of the year.</p> + +<p>“Last year, we had quite a merry picnic with a +scout sent up to obstruct our search, and one of +our men was seriously wounded. Our enemies are +certainly becoming desperate, and if, as you say, +your chums appear to be lost in the forest, we ought +to be getting up there to look after them. They +may be sorely in need of help.â€</p> + +<p>“I thank you for your offer of assistance,†Case +replied, “and it is my opinion that we can’t get +back there too quickly. Come over here and look +through the cabin window,†he continued, “pointing +through the glass panel to where he had left +Max lying bound on the bunk.â€</p> + +<p>Then the look of amusement vanished from the +boy’s face, and he opened the door and passed +quickly into the cabin. Max was nowhere to be +seen. He had disappeared as completely as if the +hull of the <i>Rambler</i> had opened and dropped him +into the stream. The ropes with which he had +been tied lay on the floor, but the boy was gone.</p> + +<p>The open window at the rear of the motor boat, +told the story. In answer to Fontenelle’s looks of +inquiry, Case briefly told the story of Max’s visit +and capture. The young man pondered a moment +and then said:</p> + +<p>“I don’t believe the boys have been captured +at all. The chances are that they are still in the +forest, probably looking for the boy who disappeared +last night.</p> + +<p>“This boy Max, if your description tallies with +my recollection, has appeared in the game before +to-day. He is a wharf rat at Quebec, and is being +used by these outlaws to further their treacherous +ends. I wish we had found him here.â€</p> + +<p>As the boys passed out on deck, the barking of +a dog came from up the river. There was no mistaking +the voice. It was Captain Joe, and he was +deploring the absence of his floating home. Case +smiled happily at the sound, and then his face +grew serious, for gunshots followed the echo of +the dog’s voice.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink08'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER VIII—THE DISCOVERY OF MAX</a></h2> + +<p>Case hastened to put the <i>Rambler</i> under motion, +and, with Fontenelle and Howard still on board, +headed her into the current. At a signal from Fontenelle, +the launch <i>Cartier</i> drew up her anchor and +followed.</p> + +<p>To Captain Joe’s vicious barking was now added +the surly voice of the bear cub, so the boys knew +that the animals were not far away. In fact, as +they paused to investigate the ugly nose of the +bulldog was pushed through the curtain of shrubbery +at the edge of the stream, and Teddy leaped +snarling into the water.</p> + +<p>Fontenelle greeted the approach of the animals +to the boat with shouts of laughter. Even in their +haste to reach the boat, the animals could not avoid +snapping and striking at each other, playfully. No +more shots were heard, but presently a great tramping +in the undergrowth came at the point where +Joe and Teddy had made their appearance, indicating +human presence there. All on board the +<i>Rambler</i> anxiously awaited the appearance of those +who were struggling in the jungle.</p> + +<p>“Would the menagerie run away and leave the +boys in captivity?†asked Fontenelle, as the bulldog +and the bear cub were assisted, streaming, to +the deck. “They seem to have had a long run.â€</p> + +<p>“Indeed, they would not,†replied Case. “If +Clay and the others were tied up in the woods, +Captain Joe and Teddy would be there with them. +No, it is my opinion that it is Alex making all +that racket in the brush. He’s a noisy little chap, +and particularly troublesome when hungry.â€</p> + +<p>The next moment proved Case’s reasoning to be +correct, for the undergrowth parted again and the +three boys appeared on the bank.</p> + +<p>“Ship ahoy!†Alex shouted, wrinkling his +freckled nose. “Do you want to take on passengers?â€</p> + +<p>“I hope,†Case called back, “that you fellows +haven’t gone and lost the rowboat. And where is +the two-foot fish you were going to bring for +breakfast? I don’t see it anywhere.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Jule called out, as the <i>Rambler</i> edged +toward the bank, “if we have lost a boat, you seem +to have found one.â€</p> + +<p>“What do you mean by that?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>Jule pointed, and Case went to the gunwale of +the <i>Rambler</i> and looked down upon the fragile +canoe in which Max had paddled up the river.</p> + +<p>“I didn’t know that we were towing it,†he said, +“but its presence here accounts for Max getting +away without being seen or heard. He never +stopped to get his boat, and may be swimming under +water yet, for all I know. I hope he’s clear down +at the bottom.â€</p> + +<p>“No danger of one of those wharf rats getting +drowned,†Fontenelle laughed. “I have seen them +remain under water for what seemed to me to be +five minutes, and Max is some riverside boy.â€</p> + +<p>“Shoot the canoe over,†cried Clay, “and we’ll +come aboard.â€</p> + +<p>“Where’s your boat?†demanded Case.</p> + +<p>“Well, you see,†explained Clay, “when we +missed the <i>Rambler</i>, we started for the St. Lawrence +by the water route, but when ruffians on the +bank began shooting, we tied up the boat and took +to the thicket.â€</p> + +<p>Case released the line and sent the light canoe +spinning over the surface of the river. Clay caught +the rope deftly and one by one the boys paddled +over to the motor boat. Alex threw himself down +on the deck and gazed imploringly up at Case.</p> + +<p>“I expected,†he said whimsically, “that you’d +welcome me on the bank of the river with a pie!â€</p> + +<p>“The next time you get us into trouble,†Case +laughed, “I’ll meet you on the bank of the river +with a club.â€</p> + +<p>The three boys were presented to Fontenelle and +Howard and then preparations for breakfast were +begun.</p> + +<p>“Alex got taken prisoner up in the woods,†Jule +grinned. “We cut him loose and tied up the cook. +We were thinking of getting breakfast there, but +we preferred fish and pancakes to lead and gunpowder, +so we made a run for the boat.â€</p> + +<p>“Is the cook tied up yet?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“I reckon they cut him loose in about ten minutes,†+Alex replied, “for they seemed to be about +three steps behind us all the way to the river, but +they didn’t catch us.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you think we would better go back after +the rowboat?†Case asked, as the boys sat down +to a breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, beans and +hot coffee. “We ought not to loose it.â€</p> + +<p>“Look here,†Jule said. “We’ve been sowing +rowboats over the world for a year or two. We +lost two on the Amazon, one on the Columbia, two +on the Colorado and had three smashed on the Mississippi. +Now, I think we’d better go back and +get this boat.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Alex grinned. “You go on back +and get it.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, don’t you ever think I can’t,†Jule replied. +“I can sneak up there and swipe that boat from +under their noses. But you needn’t think I’m going +to set out as long as there is anything here to eat.â€</p> + +<p>While the boys took breakfast, the situation as +explained to Case by Fontenelle was described to +them, and after a time Case beckoned Clay away +to a corner of the cabin and asked him a question +over which he had been puzzling ever since the +arrival of Fontenelle.</p> + +<p>“Now you understand the situation,†Case said, +“and I want you to answer this question right off +the handle. I’ve decided it half a dozen ways, but +I have been fortunate enough so far to keep my +mouth shut.â€</p> + +<p>“What is the question?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Wait,†Case said. “I’ll make a little explanation +first. These Fontenelle people have only the +legend of the lost channel and the loss of the charter +and the family jewels in this section. They +haven’t a single clew which tells them to look in +any special spot first.</p> + +<p>“So far as I can make out, young Fontenelle +and his friends come down here every summer, in +answer to the demands of the elder Fontenelle, for +a sort of a vacation. So far as I can make out, +they have never honestly searched for the lost channel. +In fact, the young man has doubts of its +existence. Now, what I want to know is this.â€</p> + +<p>“Why didn’t you say so before?†asked Clay +with a smile. “I know what your question is. You +want to know if we ought to show Fontenelle the +map which was brought to the <i>Rambler</i> so mysteriously.â€</p> + +<p>“Aw, of course, you could guess it after I had +stated the case fully,†Case declared. “But you +haven’t told me what you think about it. Ought +we to give Fontenelle the map?â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay answered, cautiously, “the map +doesn’t belong to us. It wasn’t intended for us. It +was handed to us by a man who evidently believed +that he was turning it over to Fontenelle.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Case said, “it does look as if the map +belongs to Fontenelle, but look here! He doesn’t +believe in this search. It is my idea that he doesn’t +even care whether he secures the lost property or +not. He won’t consider the matter seriously if we +give it to him. He’ll just laugh and poke it away +among a lot of old papers and that will be the +end of it.â€</p> + +<p>“You are undoubtedly right,†Clay answered.</p> + +<p>“Now,†Case went on, “we’ve had enough +trouble with these outlaws to arouse my fighting +blood. Besides, I’d like to have a look at that lost +channel. Lost channels appeal to me, you know! +I’d give a lot to find it. Why not keep the map +and go on with the search?â€</p> + +<p>“But the other fellows would be searching, too, +and the whole event would deteriorate into a big +summer outing,†Clay insisted.</p> + +<p>“All right, then,†Case suggested. “Suppose +we go on up the river to Quebec, and Montreal, and +the Thousand Islands, and then come back after +these fellows have gone home, and find that channel.â€</p> + +<p>“That listens pretty good to me,†Clay answered. +“I am willing to go on at once if it is a sure thing +that we come back, but I don’t want to sneak away +from these fellows after they have started the +fight.â€</p> + +<p>“That shows courage, all right enough,†Case +added, “but I’d rather hunt for this lost channel +with these toughs on the wharf at Quebec, and,†+he added, more seriously, “that’s where I think +they’ll be by the time we get back here. They won’t +stay here long after Fontenelle goes away.â€</p> + +<p>“Very well,†Clay replied, “if Jule and Alex +are willing, we’ll be on our way this afternoon.â€</p> + +<p>This understanding having been reached, the two +boys went back to their guests, while Jule went +ashore in the canoe.</p> + +<p>“Now, watch the little rat,†Alex laughed. +“He’ll tie that boat up and blunder through the briers, +when he might paddle up the stream close to the +bank without taking any chances.â€</p> + +<p>But Jule did nothing of the kind. He kept on +up the stream in the canoe. Presently he rounded +a bend and disappeared from sight.</p> + +<p>In a short time Fontenelle and his friend left +the <i>Rambler</i> with the understanding that the two +crews were to meet in the evening if the boys did +not sail away in the afternoon. As a matter of +fact, as the reader already knows, the boys had +decided to leave before the parting took place, but +they did not care to be urged to remain and join in +the summer vacation picnic which was sure to follow.</p> + +<p>They had started out for a trip covering the whole +length of the St. Lawrence river from the Gulf to +Lake Ontario, and were determined to cover the +course before shipping their boat back to Chicago.</p> + +<p>In less than an hour Jule was back with the rowboat, +having seen nothing of the outlaws.</p> + +<p>“They probably thought the whole Canadian +navy was coming after them,†Alex said, pointing +from the <i>Rambler</i> to the <i>Cartier</i> and back again. +“Looks like we were coming out in force.â€</p> + +<p>In the middle of the afternoon the boys notified +Fontenelle of their intention to proceed on their +journey, and the <i>Rambler</i> passed on up the St. +Lawrence.</p> + +<p>It was a golden day in summer, the waters +sparkled and danced in the sunlight, and the shipping +passing to and fro on the river made a pleasant +picture of marine life. The boys enjoyed the +situation thoroughly.</p> + +<p>“I have always had a longing to visit Quebec,†+Clay said as the boat headed for a little cove to +avoid the wash of a giant steamer, “and I propose +that we spend two or three days there looking over +things.â€</p> + +<p>“That suits me,†Alex cut in. “When we get +there, I’ll go down on the docks and find that boy +Max. And when I find him, there’ll be one wharf +rat less on the docks.â€</p> + +<p>“You better keep away from the docks,†warned +Case. “You’d get lost on South Clark street between +any two blocks you could name.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, I always find myself again,†Alex declared.</p> + +<p>“Yes, you do,†Case jeered. “The last time +you got lost, it took two boys and a bear and a +bulldog to find you. And I don’t think you are +worth the trouble at that!â€</p> + +<p>The boys immediately had a friendly struggle +on the deck, in which Teddy and Captain Joe +promptly mixed.</p> + +<p>That night the boys arranged for another campfire +on the north bank of the St. Lawrence. They +put up their hammocks, anchored the boat close +inshore, and prepared for a long sleep.</p> + +<p>“If there isn’t any lost channels or charters +from French kings or strayed family jewels hiding +about here,†Jule commented, “we’ll certainly enjoy +ourselves in this camp.â€</p> + +<p>Nothing came to disturb them during the night. +They watched the procession of craft of all descriptions +on the river until nine o’clock, then went to +sleep with a danger signal swinging from the prow +of the <i>Rambler</i>. They were early astir in the +morning and on their way upstream.</p> + +<p>There was no need of haste, yet the boys seemed +to enjoy themselves most when the boat was in +motion, so they plowed slowly up the river until +night, enjoying the wild scenery and stopping now +and then at a little settlement. That was the first +of many days of uninterrupted pleasure on the +most extensive water system of the North American +continent.</p> + +<p>On the second night, they made another camp +with only Captain Joe and Teddy standing guard. +Alex was out after fish early in the morning, and +at six o’clock he served one of his long-wished for +fish a la Indian breakfasts.</p> + +<p>Just before nightfall, they came within sight +of Quebec and moored at a pier a short distance +down the river.</p> + +<p>“Now,†laughed Case, “if any treasure seekers +or outlaws or river pirates appear to us during the +night, we’ll call the police. We’ve had trouble +enough for one trip.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m going to sleep ten hours every night until +we get to the Thousand Islands,†declared Jule. +“I’m hungry and sleepy most of the time.â€</p> + +<p>“And we’ll come back down the rapids, won’t +we?†asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“You bet we will,†replied Clay. “We’ll come +down like a shot.â€</p> + +<p>“We’ll need to,†Jule suggested, “because we’ll +lose time in the canal going up.â€</p> + +<p>There was no open campfire or swinging hammocks +for the boys that night. The city of Quebec +twinkled its myriad lights from plateau and cliff, +and the boys were not sure of whom they might +meet during the dark hours. They cooked their +supper early in order to make an evening trip in +the lower part of the city.</p> + +<p>“I wonder,†Case said, as, leaving Jule and Clay +on board, he started away with Alex, “what the +man who delivered the map to us is thinking about +concerning his mistake now. He might have been +paid to deliver that document to Fontenelle, and +the error may make him trouble.â€</p> + +<p>“And I was just thinking,†Alex put in, “what +the fellows who delivered the warning to us are +thinking concerning themselves. They wasted a +lot of ammunition and lost a good many hours’ +sleep on our account.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we’ll find out all about it when we go +back to find the lost channel,†Case suggested. “Do +you know,†he added, “I’m looking forward to +that lost channel stunt with a good deal of enthusiasm.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you really think there’s a lost channel +there?†asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“There is something in it,†Case asserted. “Men +don’t draw maps entirely on imagination.â€</p> + +<p>“Then why don’t the men who drew the map +go and tell Fontenelle all about it?â€</p> + +<p>“He tried to tell him all about it when he delivered +the map to us, but as you know, the map +reached the wrong hands.â€</p> + +<p>The boys walked the streets, comparing them +unfavorably with those of Chicago, until nearly +ten o’clock and then turned to go to the boat. When +they came to the river front again, Alex stopped +suddenly and caught Case by the arm.</p> + +<p>“Look there,†he whispered, “What do you +know about that?â€</p> + +<p>“About what?†asked Case, puzzled.</p> + +<p>“Don’t you see him down there at the head of +the pier?†asked Alex, nodding his head in that +direction.</p> + +<p>“I guess you’re the boy that’s got loose packing +in his head to-night,†laughed Case. “What do +you see?â€</p> + +<p>“What do I see?†repeated Alex. “That’s +Max, the wharf rat, the cable cutter, the motor +destroyer. Shall we go and get him?â€</p> + +<p>“Go and get him?†repeated Case. “He’d have +a flock of wharf rats around us in about two minutes.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Alex insisted, “we’d better stay here +and see where he goes, anyway. If we can locate +the fellow now, we can go after him any time.â€</p> + +<p>“Then I guess we can go after him any time,†+Case chuckled, “because he’s heading for that eating +house with the tin fish sign in front of it.â€</p> + +<p>“Then here we go for the tin fish,†Alex declared, +and in five minutes, they were seated at a +little table in an alcove separated only by a heavy +cloth curtain from the main room of a third-rate +French restaurant.</p> + +<p>When a waiter appeared they gave their orders +and sat watching the main room through the folds +of the curtain.</p> + +<p>“There!†Alex finally said in a whisper. “He’s +coming in.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†grunted Case, “and he’s got a dozen +wharf rats with him. I guess they’ve got us in as +neat a trap as one boy ever set for another!â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink09'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER IX—A BUSY NIGHT IN QUEBEC</a></h2> + +<p>“I don’t understand,†Alex said, peering +through the curtain, “why he should want to do +anything to us. Perhaps he won’t notice us at all.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t you ever think he won’t,†grinned Case. +“Didn’t I truss him up like a hen in the cabin and +threaten to arrest him, and didn’t he declare that +he would shoot me if he ever got a chance? Don’t +you believe he’ll let us get out of here without +trouble!â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, well,†Alex replied, “if he starts anything +we’ll get out all right in spite of him, and in spite +of his wharf rats.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve got an idea,†Case said, watching the collection +of roughly-dressed boys sitting about a table +in the other room, “that that kid has been waiting +in Quebec for us.â€</p> + +<p>“What shall we do, then,†Alex asked still in +a whisper. “Shall we make a break and get out +right now?â€</p> + +<p>“We may as well wait and see what takes place,†+Case answered. “This is a pretty tough joint, I +guess, and some one may start something. In that +case, we can get out while they are beating each +other up.â€</p> + +<p>The lunches ordered were now brought by the +waiter, and the boys fell to, although, as may well +be imagined, without much appetite. Max sat with +his face turned toward the curtain, evidently trying +to discover whether his enemies were using +the alcove. He had seen the boys enter the restaurant, +but was not quite certain as to which room +they had seated themselves in. His face was watchful +and vicious.</p> + +<p>Half an hour passed and the situation did not +change, then Alex plucked Case by the sleeve, motioning +toward the outer door.</p> + +<p>“We may as well move,†he said. “It is getting +late, and the streets are now growing more +unsafe every minute because of such night prowlers +as you see out there. It we’ve got to fight, we may +as well begin.â€</p> + +<p>But it was not necessary for them to start the +engagement, as Max came to the alcove directly +and drew the curtain roughly aside. The boys +remained in their seats, grinning up at him, but +their hands under the cover of the table grasped +their automatics.</p> + +<p>“Hello!†Alex said presently. “We never expected +to meet you here.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, I had an idea you’d be along,†Max said +with an ugly frown.</p> + +<p>“Come on in and set down,†Case urged with +a chuckle. “I’d like to have you tell me why you +disappeared so suddenly.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s a nice question to ask!†Max snarled. +“You tie me up like a pig in the cabin and then +wonder why I get out of your clutches!â€</p> + +<p>“You had a little swim for it, didn’t you?†+asked Case.</p> + +<p>“Yes,†was the reply, “and I’ll make you sweat +for every drop of water I swallowed during that +long dive. I’ll show you a thing or two!â€</p> + +<p>“What was there in that job for you, anyway?†+asked Alex. “We’ve got a new manila cable +charged up to you.â€</p> + +<p>“Mark the bill down on ice,†snorted Max, “and +lay the ice on the stove. You did me dirt there +and I’m going to get even!â€</p> + +<p>“Go as far as you like,†said Case. “We are +here to answer all questions.â€</p> + +<p>Max, who had been standing in the entrance +to the alcove, with the curtain half over his shoulder, +now turned and beckoned to the rough-looking +boys gathered about the table he had just left.</p> + +<p>“Friends of yours?†asked Alex as the others +gathered about the alcove. “They look as if they +might be.â€</p> + +<p>The boys outside now began jostling each other +roughly, as if preparing to start a fake fight among +themselves. That, as Alex and Case well knew, is +an old, old trick in the underworld. Whenever an +enemy is to be attacked, it is common practice for +the assailants to start a fight among themselves, +being certain that their enemies are dealt most +of the blows. Many an apparently innocent bystander +has been murdered in that way.</p> + +<p>The proprietor of the place came rushing out of +an inner room as the toughs hustled each other back +and forth and timidly remonstrated with them. It +was evident that he stood in fear of the gang. The +boys saw that no help might be expected from him.</p> + +<p>At last one of the toughs received a blow which, +apparently, forced him inside the alcove, then the +whole crowd rushed in, swarming over Alex and +Case like the wharf rats they were. The boys +drew their revolvers, but did not fire. Instead +they sprang to the top of the table and used the +handles of their weapons to good purpose.</p> + +<p>In the meantime the proprietor was running back +and forth from the alcove to the door and from +the door to the alcove, urging the boys to act “like +little gentlemen,†and at the same time shouting for +the police. But no officers made their appearance.</p> + +<p>The weight of humanity on the table upon which +the boys were standing now brought it down with +a crash to the floor. The situation was becoming +serious, and the boys were preparing to use their +guns when an unexpected event occurred.</p> + +<p>The night being warm, the street door was wide +open, but a little crowd had gathered about it. Disturbances +were frequent in that place, however, +and none of the onlookers seemed inclined to interfere.</p> + +<p>As they stood looking, a heavy body catapulted +against their shoulders, and the next moment the +heavy body of a white bulldog leaped over their +heads into the room.</p> + +<p>The toughs in the alcove, who had just settled +down to a steady pommeling of the boys with their +bare fists, turned for an instant as sharp claws clattered +over the floor, and some of them stepped +aside. Then Captain Joe leaped atop of the struggling +mass and began a vigorous exercise of his +very capable teeth.</p> + +<p>In a second the whole place was in confusion. +Patrons rushed out from other rooms, the proprietor +appeared from behind the desk bearing a revolver. +There was an inrush from the street, and +then two pistol shots sounded. As the acrid smell +of powder smoke seeped into the air, there was a +rattle of glass and the two ceiling lights were extinguished.</p> + +<p>Save for the uncertain light from incandescents +in the other alcoves, the place was now in darkness, +except for the illumination which came in from +the street.</p> + +<p>Cries, shouts and epithets of the vilest character +rang through the place. Long before the light of +the gas jets could be turned on, the boys and the +dog were out on the pavement, making good progress +toward a policeman in uniform, who appeared +under an arc light not far away. The officer held +up his heavy night stick as the boys approached +him.</p> + +<p>The sound of running feet came out and in a +moment the officer and the two boys were surrounded +by the wharf rats who had been in the +restaurant. The officer promptly drew a revolver.</p> + +<p>“What’s doing here!†he demanded. “Who +did that shooting back there?â€</p> + +<p>“These two boys did it!†Max promptly explained, +pointing at Alex and Case. “They shot +out the lights and robbed the till!â€</p> + +<p>The officer put up his revolver and his night +stick, seized Alex and Case by the shoulders, and +started off up the street, the toughs following at +his heels. There was a patrol box on the next +corner and the boys attempted no defence of their +conduct until this was reached. As the policeman +turned the key he glanced quickly from one face +to the other.</p> + +<p>“What have you boys got to say for yourselves?†+he asked.</p> + +<p>“We’ll tell that to the judge,†replied Alex.</p> + +<p>“Come, now, don’t get gay!†the officer said. +“You don’t look like boys who would be apt to +get into a scrape like that.â€</p> + +<p>The boys were so pleased at having escaped from +the restaurant with whole heads that they did not +much mind the arrest. In fact, just at that moment +the officer was about the most welcome person +who could have made his appearance, with the +exception of Captain Joe, of course.</p> + +<p>The dog now stood close by the patrol box showing +his teeth and asking Alex for permission to +take the officer by the leg.</p> + +<p>“We haven’t robbed any tills lately!†Alex +said, wrinkling his freckled nose at the officer.</p> + +<p>“Lookout!†one of the boys shouted from the +crowd. “That bulldog will get you, officer. He +chewed up two boys back in the restaurant.</p> + +<p>“Good old Captain Joe,†exclaimed Alex, patting +the dog on the head.</p> + +<p>The dog did not for a moment lose sight of a +spot on the officer’s thigh, which seemed to invite +attack.</p> + +<p>“Is that your dog?†asked the policeman.</p> + +<p>“Sure, that’s our dog,†answered Alex.</p> + +<p>“And what did you say his name was?â€</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe.â€</p> + +<p>The officer released his hold on the boys and +leaned against the patrol box. The police wagon +was now in sight, racing down the street with a +great jangling of bells, and the crowd around the +officer began to thin. They had evidently seen that +wagon before.</p> + +<p>“Say, Mr. Officer,†Alex said, “why don’t you +grab a couple of those boys? They are going to +be witnesses against us, you know.â€</p> + +<p>The officer made no reply, but reached down and +patted Captain Joe on the head, an action which the +dog strongly resented.</p> + +<p>“Did you say the dog ate a couple of wharf rats +back there?†asked the officer, turning to the diminishing +crowd.</p> + +<p>“You bet he did!†half a dozen voices cried in +chorus. “He’s a holy terror.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve got a hole in my leg you could push a chair +through,†one of them shouted. “Arrest him!â€</p> + +<p>The police wagon now backed up to the curb and +the boys stepped inside followed by Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“Here!†questioned the man in charge of the +wagon, “are you going in with us, off your beat, +and are you going to arrest the dog? He looks +like a hard citizen!â€</p> + +<p>“Not a bit of it!†answered the officer. “He +chewed up two wharf rats back there, according to +all accounts, and I’m going in to tell the sergeant, +and to ask the captain to give him a medal. If +he had only killed them, I’d try to get him on the +pension list.â€</p> + +<p>“Say,†Case remarked, “you seem to be an all-right +policeman. I guess you know that bunch +back there.â€</p> + +<p>“Every officer in the city knows that bunch,†+replied the policeman. “When they’re not in the +penitentiary, they’re making trouble for the force. +They ought to get a hundred years apiece.â€</p> + +<p>“What will we get for shooting out the lights?†+asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“So you did shoot out the lights!â€</p> + +<p>“We didn’t do anything else,†declared Alex.</p> + +<p>“Say, Mr. Cop, you’ve seen terriers go after a +rat in a pit, haven’t you?†asked Case. “Well, +that’s just the way that gang went after us. We’d +be dead now if Captain Joe hadn’t run away from +the <i>Rambler</i> and followed us.â€</p> + +<p>“There!†cried the officer clapping Alex on the +back, “I’ve been trying to think of that name ever +since I saw the dog. We’ve got pictures of this +dog and the <i>Rambler</i> and a grizzly bear called +Teddy pasted up in the squad room. We cut them +out of newspapers six months ago when you boys +were somewhere out on the Columbia river.â€</p> + +<p>“On the Colorado river,†corrected Case. “We +found Teddy Bear in a a timber wreck on the Columbia, +and he never had his picture taken until +we got to San Francisco.â€</p> + +<p>“Is the <i>Rambler</i> down on the river now?†asked +the officer, and Case nodded. “Because, if it is,†+the policeman went on, “some one had better be +getting down there! The wharf rats will eat it up +before morning, plank by plank!â€</p> + +<p>“How are we going to get down there if you +lock us up?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“You may not be locked up,†was the reply.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink10'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER X—THE MENAGERIE IN ACTION</a></h2> + +<p>After the departure of Alex and Case from the +<i>Rambler</i>, Clay and Jule drew out the two mysterious +messages they had received and studied them +over carefully.</p> + +<p>“What do you think about this lost channel proposition?†+asked Jule.</p> + +<p>“If a channel ever went through the neck of +land as shown by the map, that section must have +been visited by an earthquake,†Clay laughed. +“There isn’t a sign of a channel there. Instead, +there’s a great high ledge of rock crossing the peninsula, +just where the line shows the channel ought +to be. It is my private opinion that no water ever +crossed that peninsula. There must be some mistake +in location.â€</p> + +<p>“The men who made the map might have drawn +the line indicating the channel in the wrong place,†+Jule suggested.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay concluded, “we’ll have a look at +it when we go back, but what I can’t understand +is why the map should have been given to the wrong +party. If a man had such a map in any way accurate, +he would have presented it to Fontenelle in +person and demanded a stiff price for it.â€</p> + +<p>“It looks that way to me!†Jule agreed.</p> + +<p>There was a volume in the cabin of the <i>Rambler</i> +descriptive of the St. Lawrence river from the gulf +to Lake Ontario. This the boys brought out and +studied diligently until a late hour.</p> + +<p>At last Clay arose, yawned, and looked at his +watch.</p> + +<p>“I wonder why Alex and Case don’t return!†+he asked. “It can’t be possible that that little +scamp has gone and lost himself again, can it?â€</p> + +<p>“Just like him!†snickered Jule. “If I had a +dollar for every time he’s been lost I’d have all +the money I will ever need.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s pretty near the truth!†Clay agreed. +“However, we’ve got Captain Joe and Teddy left +with us to help look him up.â€</p> + +<p>He leaned back in his chair and whistled to the +dog, but no Captain Joe made his appearance. +Teddy came shambling into the cabin and held out +a paw, suggesting sugar. Clay glanced up at Jule +with puzzled eyes.</p> + +<p>“Isn’t the dog out on deck?†he asked.</p> + +<p>The boy hastened out and returned in a moment +with the information that the bulldog was nowhere +in sight.</p> + +<p>“Have you seen him since Alex and Case left?†+Clay asked.</p> + +<p>“He was here quite a spell after they went away, +but he didn’t seem contented. All the time I was +on deck he was walking back and forth looking +longingly over into the city.â€</p> + +<p>“Then he’s followed the boys,†Clay agreed. +“We won’t see him again until they return. The +only wonder is that Teddy didn’t go with him.â€</p> + +<p>“We’ll have to get steel cages made for our +menagerie,†Jule proposed. “We can’t keep a +single member of our happy family on the boat +when Alex is away. No one else seems to count +with them.â€</p> + +<p>The boys were not inclined to sleep, so they sat +watchfully in the cabin with the electricity off. +Spears of light came from warehouse offices on +the pier, and far up the street a great arc light made +the thoroughfare almost plain to the eye as day. +The roar of night traffic in the city and the wash of +the river drowned all individual sounds, and the +boys sat in what amounted to silence so far as any +noises directly on the boat were concerned.</p> + +<p>Somewhere along toward midnight, when they +had about given up hope of the immediate return +of the boys, there came a quick jar, and the boat +swayed as if under the foot of a person mounting +the deck.</p> + +<p>“There they are, I reckon!†Jule shouted, passing +to the cabin door which was open to admit the +cool breeze of the night.</p> + +<p>Clay stepped forward, too, but paused in a moment +and drew Alex back. A crouching figure +was now discernible on the prow, and Clay reached +for the switch which controlled the lamp there.</p> + +<p>With his hand almost to the switch Clay stopped +and turned back to where Jule stood, searching his +bunk for an automatic which had been placed there. +Then the boat swayed again, and there were three +figures on the deck instead of one. The light from +the street showed only bare outlines. The whole +scene was uncanny.</p> + +<p>“I don’t know what to make of this,†Clay whispered. +“Shall we turn on the light, or shall we +begin shooting right now?â€</p> + +<p>“If we turn on the light,†Jule whispered back, +“they’ll see us. At present, they undoubtedly believe +the boat to be deserted.â€</p> + +<p>“I think they’ll run if we turn on the lights,†+Clay suggested, softly. “They’re probably river +thieves looking for plunder.â€</p> + +<p>The men on the deck now grouped together, evidently +whispering, and trying to decide upon some +course of action. In the faint light, they seemed +to be hulking, heavily-built men, and the boys were +not anxious to come into close contact with them.</p> + +<p>“It may be just as well,†Clay finally decided, +“to remain quiet for a short time and see what they +intend to do.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s easy,†Jule whispered, “they intend to +steal the boat.â€</p> + +<p>“A good many other people have tried to steal +this boat,†Clay responded, “but we still seem to +be in possession of it!â€</p> + +<p>After standing for a minute or two near the +prow, the intruders moved stealthily toward the +cabin. The door was open, but all was dark inside. +As they slouched forward, their footsteps +made no sound upon the deck.</p> + +<p>“Shall we shoot to kill?†whispered Jule. “I’m +tired of having the scum of the earth always attempting +to rob us.â€</p> + +<p>“I’d never get over it if I should kill some one,†+Clay replied. “We’d better frighten them away +and see that no more get on board to-night.â€</p> + +<p>As he spoke, the boy reached for the switch and +turned it. Greatly to his amazement, the prow lamp +remained dark. In some strange manner the intruders +had disconnected the wires or broken the +globe. The click of the switch seemed to have +reached their ears, informing them that some one +was on board.</p> + +<p>They rushed toward the cabin and came solidly +against the door which was quickly shut, almost in +their faces. The lock rattled sharply under the +assault of a muscular hand, and the whole front of +the cabin quivered and creaked under the weight +of a burly body.</p> + +<p>“Open up here!†shouted a gruff voice. “Open +up, or we’ll break the door down. We knew you +were here all the time!â€</p> + +<p>“This begins to look serious,†whispered Clay. +“We may have to shoot.â€</p> + +<p>“Say the word,†Jule suggested, “and I’ll make +the front of the cabin look like a sieve, and every +bullet will count, too.â€</p> + +<p>“I’d like to aid in the capture of a couple of +those fellows,†Clay said, “and I wonder if one +of us couldn’t get out of the rear window, jump +over on the pier, and call the police. Such ruffians +ought not to be at liberty.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Jule whispered. “You go, and I’ll +stay here and talk to them until you get out. I +can keep them amused all right.â€</p> + +<p>While this short conversation had been in progress +the pounding at the door had continued, and +now something heavy, like a timber or a very heavy +foot, came banging against the panels.</p> + +<p>“Just a minute more,†one of the midnight +prowlers shouted, “and we’ll break this door down +and get you boys good!â€</p> + +<p>Clay moved to the rear of the cabin, drew in the +swinging sash, and stepped lightly out on the after +deck. The lights along the river front were fewer +now, and the windows of the warehouses, illuminated +an hour before, were dark. A roaring wind +was blowing up the river, and the wash of the +waves was rocking the <i>Rambler</i> unpleasantly.</p> + +<p>In all the long street in sight from the pier there +was no sign of a uniformed officer. Clay did not +know how far he would have to run to find one, so +he decided to remain where he was for a time and, +if necessary, perhaps attack the intruders from the +rear.</p> + +<p>Crouching low on the after deck, he could hear +Jule talking to the outlaws, and smiled as he +listened to the boy’s attempts to interest them.</p> + +<p>“If you break down that door,†he heard Jule +say, “you’ll have to pay for it! That door cost +money.â€</p> + +<p>A volley of oaths and river billingsgate followed +the remark, and blows which fairly shook the cabin +came upon the sturdy panels.</p> + +<p>While Clay sat listening, half resolved to make +his way over to the pier and fire a few shots over +the heads of the ruffians, a figure dropped lightly +on the deck at his side and Teddy’s soft muzzle +was pressed against his face. He stroked the bear +gently.</p> + +<p>“I don’t blame you for getting out of there, +Teddy,†he said. “They’ll wreck the boat if we +don’t do something pretty soon. What would you +advise, old chap?†he added whimsically.</p> + +<p>Teddy sniffed the air in the direction of the pier +and clambered clumsily up to the top of the cabin.</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t go up there if I were you,†Clay +advised.</p> + +<p>Teddy continued his way over the roof and +finally came to the forward edge. Clay raised his +head to the level of the roof and watched him. As +he did so a round circle of light sprang up at the +head of the pier, flashed toward the river for a +moment, and died out. The next moment a sound +of some one stumbling over a bale of goods reached +his ears. Then the light flashed out again, and the +pounding on the cabin door ceased.</p> + +<p>“Now I wonder,†Clay pondered, “if that isn’t +Alex and Case! They usually have their searchlights +with them, and Case is always stumbling +over something. It would be fine to have them +appear now!â€</p> + +<p>Directly a finger of light shot down the pier, and +under it a white body swung toward the boat. Clay +crawled back through the window and approached +the door, where Jule was still standing with his +automatic in his hand.</p> + +<p>The pounding had now ceased entirely, the men +evidently having been warned by the light. It +seemed to Clay that the unwelcome visitors were +now crouching in the darkness ready to attack any +one who might attempt to come on board.</p> + +<p>“Just wait a minute,†whispered Clay in Jule’s +ear. “Just you wait a minute, and there’ll be +something pulled off here! If I’m not mistaken, this +drama is going to shift to a comedy in about one +minute.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t understand what you mean by that,†+Jule declared. “What new deviltry are those fellows +planning?†he added.</p> + +<p>“In just about a second you’ll see,†Clay repeated. +“The only wonder is that Captain Joe +hasn’t pulled off his stunt before this.â€</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe isn’t here,†replied Jule doubtfully.</p> + +<p>Then the boat swayed frightfully, tipping toward +the pier. There was a heavy thud on deck, and +cries of fright and pain, followed by another thud.</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe isn’t here, eh?†shouted Clay unlocking +and opening the door. “Just look at that +mess out there.â€</p> + +<p>The white bulldog was mixing freely with the +intruders, who seemed to be devoting their best +energy to getting off the boat. There was a struggling, +cursing, growling mass in the middle of the +deck, and then from the roof of the cabin leaped +another combatant!</p> + +<p>Seeing the dog mixing with the pirates, and evidently +believing that some new game was in progress, +the cub leaped fairly into the midst of the +struggling mass! If the men had been frightened +before, they were now wild with terror. It seemed +to them as if the bear had dropped from the clouds. +They felt his teeth and claws, and the rough hair +of him appeared to bristle like the quills of a porcupine.</p> + +<p>Frightened beyond all measure, rendered more +desperate still by the onrush of the boys from the +cabin, the outlaws finally succeeded in breaking +away and springing to the pier. As they did so, +they nearly fell over Alex and Case who were making +all haste to ascertain the cause of the excitement +on the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>In a moment, however, they were up and away, +clattering like race-horses up the pier.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink11'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XI—THE CREW TAKES A TUMBLE</a></h2> + +<p>When Alex and Case reached the deck of the +<i>Rambler</i>, they found Clay and Jule leaning against +the gunwale laughing hard enough to split their +sides. A searchlight in the latter’s hand revealed +Captain Joe and Teddy standing by the cabin door, +looking around as if inquiring what it all meant.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Alex said, producing his own searchlight, +“if there’s anything funny going on here, +you’d better be passing it round.â€</p> + +<p>“Where have you been?†demanded Clay the +next moment.</p> + +<p>“Been?†repeated Alex. “We’ve been up in +the air!â€</p> + +<p>“That’s no fairy tale, either,†Case cut in. +“We’ve been arrested, and released, and attacked, +and pommeled, and now we strike some kind of a +minstrel show. What’s been going on?â€</p> + +<p>“You’ve been arrested, have you?†laughed Jule, +paying no attention to the question. “Any old time +you go away from this boat and don’t get into +trouble, I’ll wire the news back to Chicago. What +did you get pinched for, and how did you get +away?â€</p> + +<p>“We got pinched because of Max,†replied Alex, +“and we got out of it because we came upon a +white policeman. We escaped from Max’s cronies +because Captain Joe butted in and chewed up a +few. That’s some dog, that is.â€</p> + +<p>“And he came back here and helped you out, +too, it seems,†Case said. “I should think he was +some dog!â€</p> + +<p>“And Teddy helped, too,†Clay laughed. “We +had a show here for a little while that was worth +the price of admission.â€</p> + +<p>“It didn’t look funny to me,†Jule protested. “I +was scared stiff most of the time.â€</p> + +<p>After Alex and Case had replaced a broken globe +on the prow light, told the story of their adventures, +and explained that the chief of police had +requested the privilege of looking over the boat +in the morning, the boys moved the <i>Rambler</i> to a +slip farther down the river and went to bed, Jule +remaining on watch for the remainder of the night. +The day had been a busy one and they were all +tired.</p> + +<p>Alex was out first in the morning, poking along +the water front in the canoe which Max had deserted. +After a time Clay came out of the cabin +of the <i>Rambler</i> and called to him.</p> + +<p>“Got a fish, Alex?â€</p> + +<p>Alex shook his head.</p> + +<p>“The fish won’t bite my hook this morning!†+he shouted back.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay returned, “there’s a gudgeon up +on shore that evidently wants to get hold of your +hook, and you with it.â€</p> + +<p>Alex turned quickly and looked up the slip at +the foot of which the canoe lay. He was just in +time to see Max and another boy about his size +disappearing behind a collection of goods’ boxes.</p> + +<p>“Why didn’t you shoot him?†Alex called out +to Clay. “You saw him first. He ought to be +shot for what he did last night.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe now came out on the deck, yawning +and stretching, and elevated his fore feet to the +gunwale of the boat. Clay patted him on the head +and pointed to the goods’ boxes behind which Max +had disappeared.</p> + +<p>“Do you think, Captain Joe,†he said to the +dog, “that you could go and get a wharf rat this +morning? I think there’s one behind that pile of +boxes. You better go and see, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>Of course the dog did not understand all that +was said to him—although the boys sometimes insisted +that he did—but he did know what the +pointing finger meant. He was over the gunwale +in an instant, tearing up the side of the slip, barking +and growling as he went.</p> + +<p>“You’ll get that dog killed yet,†Alex called +out to Clay. “That wharf rat of a Max is just +like a snake. You don’t want to get near him +unless you step squarely on his head.â€</p> + +<p>Both boys whistled return orders to the dog, but +he would not come back. He seemed to remember +that an old enemy was near at hand and turned the +corner of the heap of boxes with a vicious snarl.</p> + +<p>The next moment, Max appeared at the top of +the heap, fending off the dog with a board he had +ripped from a box.</p> + +<p>“Call off your dog!†he shouted. “I want to +get my canoe. You get out of it, kid, and leave it +tied to the slip.â€</p> + +<p>“If you live long enough to see me give you +this canoe,†Alex laughed, “you’ll be older than +Noah before you die, and have whiskers forty feet +long.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ll set the police on you!†threatened Max.</p> + +<p>“You tried that last night,†grinned Alex.</p> + +<p>“Come on down here,†urged Clay. “I’d like to +know what kind of a penitentiary you received +your early education in.â€</p> + +<p>“You’d like to have me come down there, +wouldn’t you?†sneered Max. “You think you’ve +got the police on your side, don’t you? But I know +a couple of detectives that will fix you, all right. +You needn’t think I’m going to let you run away +with my canoe.â€</p> + +<p>“How’d you get up the river so quickly?†asked +Clay. “Did you dive in east of the peninsula and +swim under water to Quebec?â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, I got up on a steamer, all right,†was the +reply, “and I’ve been here waiting for you ever +since.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you happen to have a sore head this +morning?†taunted Alex. “You must have got a bump +or two last night.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ll get two for every one I got,†Max +shouted, angrily. “Are you going to give me that +canoe? I’m going to have it, you know.â€</p> + +<p>Alex deliberately paddled the canoe over to the +<i>Rambler</i>, secured it with a light line, climbed to the +deck, and set the motors in motion. Max yelled +out a few threatening sentences and disappeared.</p> + +<p>“We may as well be going up to the old pier,†+he said, “for this dandy chief of police I discovered +last night will be down to see us before long. +He’s a right good fellow, that chief is.â€</p> + +<p>“You better hold up a minute,†Jule announced,</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe is still behind those boxes. If Max +could capture him, he’d have him in all the dog +fights in Quebec.â€</p> + +<p>But Max was at this time taking to his heels +up the street which ran down to the slip; and +Captain Joe soon made his appearance, looking +very much discouraged. He was taken on board, +dripping with water, and Teddy received quite a +bath by approaching him too suddenly. The bulldog +enjoyed that.</p> + +<p>The chief of police made his appearance soon +after the boys had partaken of breakfast, and sat +down to talk over the events of the preceding +night.</p> + +<p>“This boy, Max,†he explained, “is one of the +queerest customers we have anything to do with. +He lives in the streets, apparently without money +or friends, and yet he frequently appears at a swell +hotel handsomely dressed and with plenty of money +in his pockets. He seems to have been well educated, +as you have probably noticed from his conversation.â€</p> + +<p>“He talks like a graduate,†admitted Clay.</p> + +<p>“Yes, and he’s one of the sharpest little chaps +in the city. We are certain that he has had a hand +in several bold robberies, yet it has up to this time +been impossible to convict him. He is usually defended +by first-class criminal lawyers, and his wharf +rat companions seem to be very desirable witnesses +for him.â€</p> + +<p>“Isn’t it possible,†asked Clay, “that the boy +lives along the river front for some well defined, +perhaps criminal, purpose of his own?â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve often thought of that,†answered the chief, +“for he always takes great pains to make friends +of the creatures of the underworld. Now and then +he disappears from the city for a few days, or +weeks, but always comes back to his old haunts.â€</p> + +<p>“Of course,†Clay said, “you are familiar with +the Fontenelle land claim and the story of the lost +charter and the missing family jewels?â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, yes,†answered the chief, smiling tolerantly, +“every man, woman and child in Quebec +knows all about the Fontenelle case. Old man Fontenelle +is almost a monomaniac on the subject of +the lost charter. He has spent thousands of dollars +searching for it and claims that he would have +discovered it long ago only for the active and +criminal opposition of men who might lose heavily +if it came again into his possession.â€</p> + +<p>“And the story of the lost channel?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“There is a queer story of a lost channel,†the +chief laughed, “but I’m afraid that it will always +be a lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“But Fontenelle is continually trying to locate +it,†suggested Clay.</p> + +<p>“Yes, but he has no more idea where to look +for it than a child in a cradle. There is a place +down the river where he thinks it might once have +existed, but he has no clews of any kind.â€</p> + +<p>“Hasn’t even a map?†asked Clay, resolved to +know exactly, as far as possible, what knowledge +the Fontenelles had of the lost channel.</p> + +<p>“No, not even a map,†answered the chief. “I +tell you that the family has absolutely nothing to +go by. Young Fontenelle, who is making most of +the searches now, only goes out to please his father +and to give his friends a pleasant summer vacation.â€</p> + +<p>And so the crude map which had been so mysteriously +delivered to the boys was an entirely new +element in the case! Who had drawn it, who had +connived at its delivery, who had supplied the information +buried in the legends of more than three +hundred years!</p> + +<p>Clay puzzled over the matter while the chief +chatted with the other boys, but could reach no +conclusion. Again he was tempted to reveal to +an outsider the existence of the map, and again he +forced himself to silence when the words were +almost on his lips.</p> + +<p>“I shall be laughed at if I say anything about +the map,†he mused. “The chief will tell me that +many a joke has been played on the Fontenelles, +and that this was intended to be another. He will +tell me that the <i>Rambler</i> was mistaken for the +<i>Cartier</i>, and that there is no mystery, but only +fraud, connected with either one of the messages +we received that night.â€</p> + +<p>“You spoke of the Fontenelle claim in connection +with the strange conduct of this boy Max,†the +chief finally said to Clay. “Why did you do that? +Can you see any possible connection between the +two?â€</p> + +<p>Then Clay told of the boy’s appearance on the +<i>Rambler</i>, referring also to the fact that he had +been accompanied, apparently, by men who sought +to seize the <i>Rambler</i> after it had been beached.</p> + +<p>“And Fontenelle claims that these men were +not river pirates at all,†Clay went on, “but says +they are ruffians sent out to prevent his making a +thorough search of the district where his father +believes the lost channel to have been. In that case, +this boy Max might in some way be connected with +the enemies of the Fontenelles.â€</p> + +<p>“That is very true,†answered the chief, “and +I’ll keep my eye on him after this, although I don’t +take much stock in this lost charter business, at all.â€</p> + +<p>After a pleasant hour the chief shook hands with +the boys and departed. Then the <i>Rambler</i> was +headed upstream again. The boys had had enough +of Quebec during that one night.</p> + +<p>Thirty miles or more up the St. Lawrence from +Quebec, the Jacques Cartier river enters the St. +Lawrence from the north. The boys sighted the +mouth of the stream just before twelve o’clock. +At the same moment they saw a river steamer coming +down toward them. The steamer was large +for one plying above Quebec, and, fearing that the +wash from her propeller would make trouble for +the <i>Rambler</i>, they edged over to the mouth of the +entering stream, in front of which lay a great, +partly submerged sand bar.</p> + +<p>The steamer came down, whistling and ringing, +and the boys signaled for her to pass off to the +right. Apparently scornful of so small a craft, the +pilot kept her headed directly down stream in a +course which would have brought about a collision +with the motor boat.</p> + +<p>The boys swung away toward the sand bar, trusting +to good luck to keep them clear of it.</p> + +<p>Just as she came opposite the bar, the helmsman +of the steamer did what he should have done before, +turned the prow sharply to the south. A wall +of water from the stern of the boat came sweeping +down upon the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>It caught her broadside, and in an instant she +was beached high and dry on the bar, lying with her +keel exposed and the furniture and fixtures in the +cabin and store rooms rattling about like hailstones +in a blizzard.</p> + +<p>Tumbling heels over head, catching at the gunwale, +scrambling away so as to be beyond reach of +the boat if she should go over farther, the four +boys, the bulldog and the bear brought up on the +hot, dry sand.</p> + +<p>Alex sat up, brushed the sand from his eyes, +felt tenderly of a peeled nose, and shook his fist at +the departing steamer.</p> + +<p>“You might come back here and pull us off,†he +shouted.</p> + +<p>The people on the steamer gathered at the rail +for a moment to laugh and joke at the plight in +which they had left the boys, and then evidently +forgot all about it.</p> + +<p>“Now, what do you think of that?†cried Jule. +“We’re thrown out of water for the first time in +the history of the <i>Rambler</i>. Do you suppose she’s +busted up much, Clay?â€</p> + +<p>“Aw, you couldn’t bust her up with a cannon,†+shouted Alex. “We’ve probably lost some provisions, +but this river will feed us all right.â€</p> + +<p>As for Teddy and Captain Joe, they turned astonished +eyes at the boat which they had never seen +in exactly that position before and started to +clamber back on board. Teddy shambled clumsily +up on deck, but Captain Joe, evidently changing +his mind, returned to the hot sand and lay down.</p> + +<p>In a moment a great crash came from on board +the motor boat. Then Teddy came rolling down +the incline of the deck hugging close to his breast +with two capable paws, and taking many a bump +in order that he might save his burden, a two +quart can of strained honey.</p> + +<p>“That stream,†Alex said, “will be just about +large enough to clean up the bear after he has +finished with that stolen honey.â€</p> + +<p>“That ain’t no stream,†said Jule, “That’s the +lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>Teddy ran away to a distant part of the bar +to eat his honey in peace, and the boys ruefully +watched the river in hope of rescue.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink12'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XII—RIVERMEN WITH A THIRST</a></h2> + +<p>“A lost channel and a lost boat! Still if we +didn’t have adventures just like this, we’d be contented +to remain on the South Branch in Chicago,†+said Case. “It wouldn’t have been any fun +if we had passed up the St. Lawrence without +getting dumped on the sand.â€</p> + +<p>“Say, kid,†Jule said, pointing to Alex, “do you +think you can swim over to the shore?â€</p> + +<p>“Swim over yourself!†advised Alex. “What +do you want me to swim over for?â€</p> + +<p>“To get timber to block up this boat so you can +cook dinner,†laughed Jule. “We can’t live on the +sand which is here—that’s a pun, eh?â€</p> + +<p>“What have we got for dinner?†Clay asked, +ignoring the pun. “Perhaps I’d better go aboard +and look over our larder.â€</p> + +<p>“If you want to know where I’m going to +get my dinner,†Alex observed, “just look down +into the river. Those fish look pretty good to +me, and I’m hungry enough to eat a whale.â€</p> + +<p>“If the time ever comes when you’re not hungry,†+Case cut in, “the sun will rise in the west. +You’re empty to your heels.â€</p> + +<p>“And I’m glad of it, too,†Alex shouted back. +“But what I want to know,†he continued, “is how +we’re ever going to get off this bar.â€</p> + +<p>“If we stay right here,†Case advised, “some +boat will come along and pull us off. You don’t +have to do anything unless you want to.â€</p> + +<p>But at that moment there were no boats in +sight. Instead, a great raft of hewn timbers with +a rough shanty in the middle of it came drifting +down. Half a dozen river men ran to the edge +of the float and eyed the <i>Rambler</i> keenly. They +seemed amused at what had happened.</p> + +<p>“Ship ahoy!†one of them called.</p> + +<p>“Give us a rope,†Jule shouted.</p> + +<p>“Got anything on board?†the man called back.</p> + +<p>“What do you mean by anything?†Jule asked.</p> + +<p>“Oh, anything under a cork!†answered the +other.</p> + +<p>“Row over here with a couple of cases and +we’ll pay you for them,†said another voice.</p> + +<p>“What do you take this for, a floating saloon?†+asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“That’s what!†came back over the water. “If +you don’t send over something, we’ll come and +get it.â€</p> + +<p>“Now that’s a nice proposition,†Case said to +Clay. “Here we get turned almost bottom-side up +on a sand bar, and a lot of wops think we’re bartenders +and have whiskey to sell.â€</p> + +<p>“We ought not to let them on the bar at all,†+Alex advised. “If they get here and can’t find +what they want, they’re liable to take anything +they can get their hands on. I’m for pulling out +the guns and spattering a little lead over the +water.â€</p> + +<p>“Are you going to send it over?†called the +man from the raft.</p> + +<p>“Go take a drink out of the river!†advised +Jule.</p> + +<p>“I’ll show you whether we will or not!â€</p> + +<p>All this time the raft had been drifting down +stream, and the <i>Rambler</i> had, of course, remained +stationary. As the man uttered this implied +threat, he cast off the line of a boat, motioned to +two men who stood near, and the three entered +and began rowing toward the sand bar.</p> + +<p>“We’ll overtake you in a half an hour,†the man +who had done most of the talking from the raft +called out to his companions, “and we’ll bring +back something cheering if it is to be had on +that boat.â€</p> + +<p>“About the only thing you’ll get on this boat,†+Case shouted, “will be bullets. If you don’t sheer +away, you’ll get a volley right now.â€</p> + +<p>The men stopped rowing and backed water as +the boys drew their automatics and stood in a +row at the edge of the bar.</p> + +<p>“Aw, come on kids, give us a couple of cases +and we’ll go on our way. We’re going to get it +anyhow.â€</p> + +<p>“There isn’t a drop of intoxicating liquor on +board,†Clay assured the man. “This is not a bumboat. +We’re just boys out on a pleasure trip.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s what they all say!†roared a husky +brute from the fast disappearing raft. “Go on, +Steve, and get the goods.â€</p> + +<p>“You bet I will!†answered the raftsman, and +again the men bent to their oars. Clay fired a +warning shot and the boat paused again for a +moment.</p> + +<p>“Will you send us a case?†shouted the leader +of the boat party.</p> + +<p>“Send you a case of cartridges!†laughed Alex.</p> + +<p>Two of the men now turned to the oars in order +to keep the boat from drifting farther down, while +the leader sat close to their seat, saying something +to them in a low tone. The two oarsmen were +shaking their heads, but the other was beating one +hand against the other vigorously.</p> + +<p>“I know,†the boys heard him say, raising his +voice as he became excited “that that is the same +boat, and that these are the same boys. You remember +what I told you when I came up the river +on a fast boat and hired out on the raft!â€</p> + +<p>The boys could not hear the reply, but presently +the leader’s voice sounded again above the wash +of the river. He was evidently under great excitement, +and was speaking rapidly and vehemently.</p> + +<p>“There is more value in that motor boat,†he +said, “than there is in the whole raft. What does +it matter if the timber does float down without +us? We’ve got a boat and can put up any old +yarn that comes to mind.â€</p> + +<p>The rowers still seemed to object to the plan +the leader seemed to be urging, and finally the +boat was allowed to drift down with the current.</p> + +<p>“This old world is a pretty small place after +all,†Clay remarked as the stern of the rowboat +disappeared around a little bend. “If you don’t +believe it, just consider the events of this trip. We +meet Max on the river and he laps over on us at +Quebec. We meet outlaws on a rocky island three +hundred miles away, and they show themselves +at the mouth of the Jacques Cartier river.â€</p> + +<p>“And we’re likely to meet them again, unless +I’m very much mistaken,†Case warned. “I don’t +believe they went down after the raft at all.â€</p> + +<p>“What was that you said about swimming over +to the shore?†asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“To get a fish for dinner,†Jule cried.</p> + +<p>Alex dashed into the cabin, tumbled about in +the wreckage for a short time, and came out clad +only in a bathing suit.</p> + +<p>“I’m going to swim to shore all right,†he said, +“but I’m not going over there to get a fish for +dinner.â€</p> + +<p>“If you see one, catch him by the tail,†Case +shouted as the boy entered the water.</p> + +<p>Alex wrinkled a bruised nose in the direction +of the sand bar and dived under, to reappear on +the shore line a couple of seconds later.</p> + +<p>“Now, what do you think that little monkey +is after?†asked Jule.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe and Teddy seemed to be asking +themselves the same question. At any rate, they +decided to go and see, and both were soon in the +water. The boys saw Alex race up a sandy bluff +and disappear in a thicket.</p> + +<p>Here and there on the other side of the river +were scattered houses, but he seemed to pay no +attention to these. The animals trotted after him +and soon all were out of sight. The boy was +gone only a short time and when he returned on +board and dressed his face looked anxious.</p> + +<p>“Do you know,†he said, “those fellows never +went down the river at all. They dropped down +under the bend and landed. If we don’t get off +this sand bar this afternoon, we’ll have to sit up +all night waiting for trouble.â€</p> + +<p>“Then we’ll get off this afternoon,†Case +observed. “I’m so constituted that I have to have +my sleep regularly.â€</p> + +<p>“Keep me awake nights if you want to,†+laughed Alex, “but don’t let me go hungry! I +was reared a pet and can’t stand it.â€</p> + +<p>There were now various crafts in sight on the +river, but none came near the bar. Signals made +by the boys met with no response.</p> + +<p>“They are a suspicious lot of fellows,†Clay +decided.</p> + +<p>After several vessels had passed without paying +any attention to the shouts and signals of the +boys, they gave up trying to secure immediate assistance +and devoted themselves to the preparation +of dinner—to the great joy of Captain and the +eminent disgust of Teddy, the cub, who had certainly +eaten too much honey.</p> + +<p>The cabin was indeed in bad shape, standing at +an angle of about thirty degrees. Many of the +dishes were broken, and some of the food which +had been cooked in the morning lay in a messy +heap on the floor.</p> + +<p>However, the boys managed to boil coffee and +cook eggs, and so, with bread and butter and +canned food, they made a very good meal.</p> + +<p>“Now, what are we going to do?†asked Jule. +“We can never get this boat off alone, and the +vessels on the river won’t help us.â€</p> + +<p>“I wonder if the tide doesn’t come up here?†+asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“If it does, it was not far from high tide when +we struck the sand bar,†Jule replied, “and the situation +will grow worse instead of better.â€</p> + +<p>“Let’s get out our shovels and dig a canal to +the river,†Case suggested. “We can’t play any +Robinson Crusoe stunt here very long.â€</p> + +<p>“And the bold, bad men from the raft will be +down on us to-night if we stay,†Alex added, “so +I’m for doing anything to get off the bar.â€</p> + +<p>The boys were actually preparing to dig a +trench across the bar when a steamer to which +they called more as a matter of form than with +any expectation of receiving assistance, turned toward +their side of the river and slowed down.</p> + +<p>“Hello, there, boys,†came a voice from the +bridge. “You must have been having a head-on +collision with a sand bar.â€</p> + +<p>“Why,†Clay exclaimed, “that’s Captain +Morgan! What was it I was saying about this being +a pretty small world?â€</p> + +<p>“Right you are, Captain,†called Case. “We’re +up against it all right. Can you send us a line?â€</p> + +<p>“Certainly,†answered the captain. “I’ll have +you out of that in no time.â€</p> + +<p>And he did! The line was sent in a rowboat, +attached to the prow of the <i>Rambler</i> and slowly, +steadily, so as not to strain the timbers or produce +cracks in the hull, the motor boat was drawn +from her uncomfortable position, practically uninjured. +Clay was soon grasping the captain by the +hand. The other boys shouted their greetings and +remained on board to tidy up the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>“Young man,†Captain Morgan said, “if I had +a hundred boys, and the whole mess of them, combined +and individual, got into as many scrapes as +you four kids do, I’d keep them under lock and +key!â€</p> + +<p>“You’d miss a lot of fun if you did,†said Clay.</p> + +<p>“When you get a hold of a nice, choice mess of +boys, like the <i>Rambler</i> crew, you want to give them +plenty of room and fresh air. They’ll come out +all right!â€</p> + +<p>“You do, at any rate,†admitted the captain. +“Let’s see,†he added, “what was it you were going +to find when I left you? A lost channel or +something like that? You didn’t find it, did you?â€</p> + +<p>“We found a scrap, and a lot of ruffians, and +a friend,†Clay replied, “and that’s all we did find, +but we haven’t given it up.â€</p> + +<p>“And that’s all you ever will find,†declared the +captain. “There may be a lost channel somewhere +in the world. In fact, there is one on the +New York side up near the big lake, but I’m +afraid you are wasting your time. Why don’t +you come on down the river with me?â€</p> + +<p>“That would never do,†Clay replied. “When +we left the delta of the Mississippi, we promised +ourselves that we would look over every inch of +the St. Lawrence, and we’re going to do it. We’re +going to Lake Ontario and then back to find the +lost channel. And after that, we’re going to return +to Ogdensburg and ship the <i>Rambler</i> to little +old Chicago. That is, unless we decide to sail up +the lakes.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, good luck to you,†said Captain Morgan, +as Clay passed down the side of the <i>Sybil</i>. “If I +get tangled up with a lost channel anywhere, I’ll +send it to you by parcel post. Why, you boys can +make a lost channel easier than you can find one.â€</p> + +<p>“But it wouldn’t be half so much fun,†Clay +said, stepping into the rowboat. “We’re having +lots of sport on the St. Lawrence all the same!â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink13'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XIII—A MEETING AT MONTREAL</a></h2> + +<p>As Clay was being rowed back to the <i>Rambler</i>, +one of the sailors called his attention to three men +standing on the shore of the river not far away +from the intersecting stream. They stood looking +down at the <i>Rambler</i> for a short time, and then +disappeared around the angle of a bluff.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps those men want to be taken off,†suggested +the sailor.</p> + +<p>“They need their heads taken off,†Clay observed. +“I am certain from what I overheard +that one of the men was with the outlaws down +the stream. They left a timber raft here, as I believe, +for the sole purpose of attacking us in the +night and trying to get our motor boat away from +us.â€</p> + +<p>“I should imagine from the build of the boat,†+the other observed, “that they would have to do +some pretty fast traveling if they caught the +<i>Rambler</i> now that she is free. She must be a speedy +boat.â€</p> + +<p>“She certainly is,†Clay replied. “She’s built +like an ocean-going tug.â€</p> + +<p>After Clay landed on deck the boys held what +they called a council of war. They were not exactly +looking for trouble, still they did not like the +idea of sailing off upstream and leaving the outlaws +unpunished.</p> + +<p>“They bunted into us,†Alex insisted, “and +we ought to do something to them. If they take +their boat and row down after the timber raft, I’d +like to follow them in the <i>Rambler</i> and tip them +over.â€</p> + +<p>The others felt in about the same way, but it +was finally decided to go on up the river to Montreal, +remain there for a couple of days, and so +pass on to the great lakes.</p> + +<p>“If we can keep Alex in the boat at Montreal, +we’ll be doing a good job,†Jule said. “He’s been +lost in about every city we’ve come to, and I think +he ought to be locked in the cabin just as soon as +we touch the pier. It isn’t safe to turn him loose +at night.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Alex agreed, “you may lock me +up any old night when I want to sleep. That will +keep me from standing guard.â€</p> + +<p>The boys anchored in a cove that night, well +out of the wash of passing steamers, and in the +middle of the following afternoon, saw the spires +of Montreal. They gazed at the great mountainous +bluff which lies above and beyond the city +with wondering eyes. There battles had been lost +and won. The flags of France and Great Britain +had in turn floated over the city from the heights +they saw.</p> + +<p>The boys decided that night to spend the whole +of the following day in the historic city. They +came to anchor in a slip some distance from the +town itself, and, for a wonder, passed an undisturbed +night.</p> + +<p>Early the following morning Clay and Jule set +out to view the sights, it being understood that +Alex and Case were to have their freedom in the +afternoon. At first the two boys kept to the river +front, examining the vessels they saw, and wondering +if their fate would ever lead them to all the +countries the craft represented.</p> + +<p>As they turned away from the water front, Jule +lifted his face and sniffed the air enjoyably.</p> + +<p>“Do you know,†he said, “this is the first +place I’ve struck for several days where the scent +of the lost channel hasn’t been in my nostrils.â€</p> + +<p>“You’ve got so you can smell the lost channel +now, have you?†grinned Clay. “That may be a +good thing for our future use.â€</p> + +<p>“I can’t smell the channel,†Jule replied, “but +I can scent the danger of it. Say, boy,†he added, +“We’re going to have trouble when we go back to +dig up the Fontenelle charter.â€</p> + +<p>“We came out for adventure, didn’t we?†asked +Clay.</p> + +<p>“Oh, I’m not kicking,†Jule exclaimed. “If I +get mine, you’ll get yours, too. The only way to +have any fun in this world is to go where the fun +is. You can’t meet with adventures by staying in +bed at home.â€</p> + +<p>As the boys proceeded up the street, an officer +in uniform standing on the corner beckoned to +them.</p> + +<p>“Say, boys,†he said, “do you know those two +men just behind you?â€</p> + +<p>The boys turned and looked back.</p> + +<p>There were many moving figures and faces in +the street, but none which attracted the especial +attention of the lads. They looked inquiringly at +the policeman, who stood with a puzzled expression +on his face.</p> + +<p>“Which two men?†asked Jule.</p> + +<p>“Why,†replied the officer, “the two men who +have followed you for the last four blocks, stopping +when you stopped and going on when you +advanced. I came up the street on the other side +just behind you, and couldn’t help observing what +was going on.â€</p> + +<p>“Now,†said Clay, turning to Jule, “what do +you think about having lost the scent of the lost +channel?â€</p> + +<p>“I begin to smell it in the air right now,†was +the reply.</p> + +<p>The policeman looked at the two boys inquiringly.</p> + +<p>“What do you know about the lost channel?†+he asked.</p> + +<p>“Not a thing!†replied Jule. “There isn’t any +lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“Then I’ve been hearing a lot about nothing +lately,†smiled the officer. “Somehow, the newspapers +have been full of it lately.â€</p> + +<p>“Did they say anything about that scrap we had +on an island below Quebec?†asked Case. “We +haven’t seen a paper lately.â€</p> + +<p>“They said something about four boys being +attacked, down the river, and a great deal about +a quest for a lost channel,†replied the policeman.</p> + +<p>“And about a scrap in Quebec?†asked Jule.</p> + +<p>“Sure,†said the officer. “That made half a +column. Are you boys from the <i>Rambler</i>? If so, +where is the boat?â€</p> + +<p>“We’re from the <i>Rambler</i> all right,†Clay replied, +“and it looks as if some of our friends from +down stream are still after us. Can you describe +the men you saw following us? What do they +look like?â€</p> + +<p>“Just tough riverside characters,†answered the +officer. “That is how I came to notice them +closely. Such people are rarely seen as far up in +the city as this. They prefer the lower dives.â€</p> + +<p>“We had trouble with some men from a raft +back here a little ways,†Jule explained, “and these +may be the fellows. Anyway, we’re going to +look out for ourselves and thank you very much +for having called our attention to the incident. +We’ll be careful.â€</p> + +<p>The policeman went down the street, swinging +his club, and the boys turned and faced each other +with questions in their eyes.</p> + +<p>“What’s coming off here?†Jule asked.</p> + +<p>“Seems to me like a game of tag,†Clay replied. +“From the moment we left the deck of the <i>Sybil</i>, +across the river from the egg-shaped peninsula +near St. Luce, we have been It. Some one has +been after us night and day. Now, what are we +going to do about it?â€</p> + +<p>“I could tell you better if we knew whether the +men referred to by the officers are the enemies of +the Fontenelles or just plain river pirates seeking +to seize the <i>Rambler</i>. What do you think?â€</p> + +<p>“So far as that is concerned,†Clay replied, “it +makes but little difference. They all give us trouble, +and I propose for once that we run away from +them. I’m more in love with the river than the +men we’re likely to meet on it, so we’ll get to the +quiet spots.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you mean that we ought to go back to the +<i>Rambler</i> right now and cut Montreal off our visiting +list?†asked Jule.</p> + +<p>“In my judgment, that is what we ought to do.â€</p> + +<p>Jule faced about instantly and started toward +the river.</p> + +<p>“Come on then!†he said. “I’m game for it!â€</p> + +<p>The boy had turned under the impulse of +the moment without sensing that he was on a +crowded pavement in the heart of a big city. As +he swung about, he almost bumped noses with a pedestrian +who, in company with another, had been +walking only a couple of yards behind him.</p> + +<p>The man was clothed in the garb of a waterside +character, but it was very plain to the boy that +the costume had been assumed for the purpose of +disguise. His complexion was smooth and clear, +his eyes keen and penetrating, and his whole manner +and attitude proclaimed education and native +refinement. For an instant Jule and the man stood +looking each other squarely in the eyes.</p> + +<p>“Step aside, lad, step aside,†said the disguised +man, in a voice far from unpleasant. “Don’t be +blocking the way.â€</p> + +<p>“Is this your street?†demanded Jule willing to +continue the conversation in order that he might +have a more prolonged view of the man opposite +him. “If it is, you better take it with you when +you go on.â€</p> + +<p>The man Jule was watching so closely seemed to +understand that he was under suspicion, and, +seizing his companion by the arm, the two passed on +together, turning their heads now and then to watch +the progress of the boys down the street.</p> + +<p>“Did you see that?†asked Jule as the boys +stepped along.</p> + +<p>“Did I see what?†asked Clay. “I heard a +voice, that’s all!â€</p> + +<p>“That was Sherlock Holmes in disguise. Did +you catch on?â€</p> + +<p>“Not than I am aware of!†laughed Clay. +“What about it?â€</p> + +<p>Jule explained what he had observed in the man +against whom the pressure of the crowd had +brought him, and Clay agreed that the man he had +heard speak in a remarkably pleasant tone had not +been following them by accident.</p> + +<p>“Those two men,†he said, “are the fellows +the policeman referred to.â€</p> + +<p>“But why should men like those be following +us?†asked Jule. “Why, he looked like a banker, +or a lawyer, or a preacher. And what did he have +that kind of a rig on for? It’s mighty funny.â€</p> + +<p>“You may search me,†Clay answered. “The +incident only confirms the opinion expressed not +long ago that we ought to get out of this city immediately. +Alex and Case can take their outing in +some other town.â€</p> + +<p>The boys walked swiftly down the street for a +couple of blocks, turned into a side thoroughfare, +called a taxi, and were driven swiftly back along +a parallel street for two blocks.</p> + +<p>There they dismissed the cab, at the corner of +the main street, and walked along looking for the +two men they suspected of hostile intentions.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the first block they came upon +them, walking slowly, and peering to right and +left, as if anxiously searching for some one.</p> + +<p>“That settles it!†Clay said. “We’ll go back to +the <i>Rambler</i> and disappear. Once we get started, +there isn’t a boat on the river that can catch us. +We’ll fool these fellows for once.â€</p> + +<p>When the story of the morning had been told +to Alex and Case, they rather wanted to remain +in the city, just “to get a line on the fellows,†as +Alex explained, but they finally consented to an +immediate departure.</p> + +<p>That night the <i>Rambler</i> lay at anchor at the +mouth of a small creek on the south side of the +St. Lawrence river. Just above them lay a wooded +island, occupied at this time by a colony of vacationists.</p> + +<p>The <i>Rambler</i> had fought her way through the +canal, and now lay only a short distance below +the border of Lake St. Frances.</p> + +<p>The boys built a roaring fire on shore and +cooked supper there, but made no arrangements for +sleeping out of doors. The blaze brought several +people from a little settlement not far away, and +the boys rather enjoyed their company. After a +time Clay whispered to Jule:</p> + +<p>“Stick your nose up in the air, kid, and see if +you can get a scent of the lost channel in this +crowd!â€</p> + +<p>“Nothing doing!†Jule answered with a grin.</p> + +<p>“Now we’ll see whether there is or not,†Clay +said.</p> + +<p>He turned to an elderly gentleman who sat by +his side and asked:</p> + +<p>“I have heard that there is a lost channel on +the American side just this side of Lake Ontario. +Is that true?â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†said the man with a smile, “and I have +heard that there is a lost channel down below +Quebec, too. And I read in the newspaper that +you boys were in search of it. Is that so?â€</p> + +<p>Clay faced Jule with a smile on his face.</p> + +<p>“Whatever we do,†he said, “we can’t escape +the lost channel.â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink14'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XIV—AN OLD FRIEND APPEARS</a></h2> + +<p>“How did this channel get lost?†Alex asked +with a whimsical smile.</p> + +<p>“Well,†replied the other, “I don’t believe there +is a lost channel. You may go down the St. Lawrence +river, up one side and down the other—and +I’ve been over every inch of it—and you can’t find +any place for a lost channel, unless you locate it +at a headland which was once an island. In that +case, there might be a lost channel. But the charts +of the river for two hundred years show no such +change in conformation.â€</p> + +<p>“That seems to be conclusive,†Clay suggested.</p> + +<p>“Conclusive? Of course it is, but you can’t +make this man Fontenelle believe it. Now, look +here, stranger,†he went on, “I’ve read what the +newspapers say about you, and I know that you +intend to go back there and look for that lost channel. +Is that right?â€</p> + +<p>“It seems to me that the newspapers are advertising +us pretty thoroughly,†Clay observed. +“Every one seems to know all about us.â€</p> + +<p>“Of course!†assented the older man. “You +boys and your boat are about as well known on +this river, by reputation at least, as Lawyer Martin, +and he’s been doing a heap of traveling up +and down lately. Why, Lawyer Martin was right +here the very day the Quebec newspapers printed +the story that you boys were going to find the lost +channel. He read the story and jumped.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir! He jumped like a man going to +locate an oil claim. I rowed him out to the first +steamer that came along, and heard him offer the +captain a big wad of money if he would gain time +on the trip to Quebec.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you think the story about the lost channel +had anything to do with his sudden departure?†+asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir. Yes, sir,†was the reply. “He didn’t +tell me what he suspected or feared, but he hurried +away to find out what was going on just the +same. And he hurried away right soon.â€</p> + +<p>“Is he in any way interested in the Fontenelle +charter?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Interested?†repeated the other. “I should +say he was! Why, he’s the lawyer for all of us +fellows who will be turned off our farms if the +charter should be found and sustained.â€</p> + +<p>“I see,†said Clay, “I see!â€</p> + +<p>“Now,†whispered Jule, giving Clay a nudge +in the side, “we’ll find out who the disguised man +was. It might have been this Lawyer Martin.â€</p> + +<p>“What kind of a looking man is Mr. Martin?†+asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Mighty nice looking fellow,†was the reply. +“Shows breeding and culture all the way through, +just like a thoroughbred horse shows what he’s +got in him. His face is as white as a woman’s +and his eyes are as clear as a girl’s!</p> + +<p>“He neither drinks nor smokes, and he is about +the best play actor you ever saw on the stage. +Put a river man’s rig on him and he looks like +a river man.</p> + +<p>“Dress him up like a preacher, and you’d think +he had the bible by heart. He’s been in our schoolhouse +many a time on his trips here, showing the +boys and girls how to conduct a commencement +exhibition. Oh, he’s mighty popular all along the +river!â€</p> + +<p>Another nudge and whisper from Jule.</p> + +<p>“Blonde or black?†the boy suggested.</p> + +<p>“I think I know the man,†Clay went on, following +the lead again. “He has very black eyes, +hasn’t he? And a nose with a little hump on it, +and a wide, straight mouth and thin lips.â€</p> + +<p>“No, sir. No, sir,†was the reply. “He’s got +light hair and blue eyes, and a straight nose, and +a mouth that isn’t wide nor straight. Mighty +handsome man, is Lawyer Martin. We all like +him up here!â€</p> + +<p>“And you will lose your farm if this charter +is found and sustained?†asked Clay. “You and +many of your neighbors?â€</p> + +<p>“That’s what they say,†replied the other, +“though, of course, it will depend upon what +young Fontenelle says about it.â€</p> + +<p>“The courts might not sustain the charter,†+suggested Clay.</p> + +<p>“Oh well, we’re not worrying about it,†was the +reply. “We’re leaving the whole case to Lawyer +Martin.â€</p> + +<p>As the night advanced the residents left the +campfire and returned to their homes, while the +boys sought their bunks on board the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>“What was it some one said about a small +world?†asked Clay. “Who was it that said that +a face once seen was sure to cross our paths in +future years? Was it the same man who said +that a note of music once struck revolves around +the earth for countless millions of years, never +ceasing, never reaching mortal ears, but making its +way through space forever?â€</p> + +<p>“Hold on!†Alex cried. “Come down from +the stars if you want to talk to us.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Clay went on, “every person we have +met at our stopping-places has been seen or heard +of at the next stopping-place. We meet a disguised +man on the street at Montreal. We come +to a campfire by the riverside, miles above the +city, to learn why he was disguised, and why he +was following us. As we have said several times +lately, this is a pretty small world. The man you +meet to-day may walk in your path forever!â€</p> + +<p>The boys were astir early in the morning. They +cooked breakfast on the shore, watched by inquisitive +boys and girls, and then proceeded upstream. +They passed beautiful Lake St. Frances +long before noon, and just as night fell tied up +at a lower pier at Ogdensburg. As soon as +supper had been eaten, Alex and Captain Joe started +away together.</p> + +<p>“Here, where are you boys going?†asked Clay. +“I say boys because Captain Joe has more sense +than Alex,†he added, turning to the others. “At +least Captain Joe doesn’t get lost very often.â€</p> + +<p>“Right over here on the river front,†Alex replied, +“is where the Rutland Transit Company +boats dock. Those boats are fresh from Chicago, +and I’m going over to see if I can get a drink of +Lake Michigan water!â€</p> + +<p>“If you go over there with that dog,†Case declared, +“the sailors will steal him. That dog is +about as well known in Chicago as Carter H. Harrison. +He’s had his picture in every one of the +Chicago newspapers.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†replied Alex. “If they catch him +and take him back to Chicago, they’ll have to take +me with him.â€</p> + +<p>The boy took his departure, accompanied by +the dog, and the others sat down to a quiet evening +in the cabin. They had had several pleasant +days and many thrilling adventures on the St. +Lawrence river.</p> + +<p>There remained now only about a hundred miles +of travel, Lake Ontario being only that distance +away. But included in that hundred miles were +all the beautiful islands, great and small, which +have made the St. Lawrence river famous.</p> + +<p>The pleasantest part of their trip was yet to +come.</p> + +<p>While the boys lay in the cabin, with the lights +all out as usual, a heavy step sounded on the deck, +and there came a sharp rap at the cabin door. The +boys sprang out of their bunks instantly.</p> + +<p>“What’s coming off now?†whispered Jule. +“Anyway, this fellow has more manners than our +other night visitors.â€</p> + +<p>Clay stepped to the door, searchlight in hand, +and turned a circle of flame on the face of the +newcomer. Then he dropped the electric and +sprang forward. The boys were getting ready +with their automatics when they heard his voice +speaking in great excitement.</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe!†he cried. “Captain Joe! +Where the dickens did you come from? What are +you doing at Ogdensburg?â€</p> + +<p>“I might ask the same question of you,†replied +the hearty old ex-captain. “To tell you the truth, +lad,†he went on, “I’ve been so lonesome ever +since you boys left the South Branch that I’ve +done quite a lot of traveling, for an old man. Several +times I’ve been almost up with you but you +always got away.â€</p> + +<p>“You never came all the way up here to visit +us?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“To be honest about it, boys,†the ex-captain +replied, “I just did that very thing. I’ve got a +friend who is captain of the Rutland boat which +arrived this evening, and I came on with him. +Mighty fine trip we had, too. And how are you +all, and where is Alex and my namesake?â€</p> + +<p>“You wouldn’t know Captain Joe,†laughed +Clay. “He’s got to be the biggest, fiercest, wisest, +pluckiest bulldog in the world.â€</p> + +<p>“And Teddy bear! You remember him of +course,†Jule put in. “He ate up two pirates +down the river, body and bones, and is so fat that +we have to help him out of bed. Great bear, that!â€</p> + +<p>“Boys, boys,†warned Captain Joe. “Don’t +exaggerate. I’ve always told you not to exaggerate. +Do you think Captain Joe will know me?â€</p> + +<p>“Of course he will,†said Case. “Captain Joe +never forgets a friend.â€</p> + +<p>“And now that you are here,†Clay put in, “you +are going to remain with us while we go back +down the St. Lawrence to St. Luce and return +here. Then we’ll either ship the boat to Chicago +or take her slowly up the lakes. Won’t that be a +fine old trip?â€</p> + +<p>“It listens pretty good to me,†Captain Joe answered. +“To be honest with you, boys,†he continued, +“I’ve been wanting a trip on the <i>Rambler</i>, +but I never felt like getting away until now.â€</p> + +<p>“You sailed on the St. Lawrence once a good +many years ago, didn’t you, Captain Joe?†asked +Jule.</p> + +<p>“Did I?†asked Captain Joe extending his +stubby forefinger by way of emphasis. “Did I sail +on the St. Lawrence river? Boys, I know every +inch of it, up one side and down the other and +through the middle.â€</p> + +<p>“Then you’ll be a great help to us,†Clay suggested.</p> + +<p>“Oh, you boys don’t need any help navigating +a boat on any river,†Captain Joe asserted. “You +boys are all right! But I was going to tell you +about the St. Lawrence river.â€</p> + +<p>“A few years ago, there wasn’t an eddy, nor a +swirl, nor an island, nor a channel, on the whole +stream from Wolfe island to the waters of the Atlantic +that I didn’t know all about. I’ve sailed her +night and day and I could take a ship down the +rapids now. Only the government won’t give me +a license because I can read and write,†he added +in a sarcastic tone.</p> + +<p>“Well, Captain Joe, you’re just the identical +man we’ve been looking for,†cried Clay. “Several +hundred years ago an old Frenchman by the +name of Cartier mislaid a channel down the river. +Now we want you to help us find that channel!â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, you want to find a channel, do you?†+laughed Captain Joe. “Well, now, I’ll tell you, +boys, if that channel has been open at any time +within the past hundred years, I can find it. Of +course I wasn’t on the river as long ago as that, +but my old dad was, and he taught me to read +the St. Lawrence like a boy reads the stories of +Captain Kidd.â€</p> + +<p>“That is fine!†the boys exclaimed in a breath.</p> + +<p>Then Clay laughed and nudged his companions +and said:</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe, did you ever hear anybody say +that this is a mighty small world? If so, do you +think it’s true?â€</p> + +<p>“It is bigger than I have ever been able to get +over,†replied Captain Joe, not understanding. +“I’ve seen quite a lot of it, but not all.â€</p> + +<p>Then Clay told the captain of their adventures +on the St. Lawrence, showing him the two mysterious +communications, with the understanding that +he was never to mention their existence to any +one.</p> + +<p>“And so there really is a lost channel?†asked +Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“You bet there is! There is more than one +lost channel. Go bite him doggie!â€</p> + +<p>The voice came from the doorway, and the next +moment, Alex and Captain Joe, the bulldog, came +tumbling into the room.</p> + +<p>“Say, my namesake is getting to be some dog,†+shouted the Captain, after the greetings were over. +“He’s big enough to find a lost channel anywhere. +And he looks fierce enough, too.â€</p> + +<p>“He’s always perfectly willing to do his share +of the looking,†Alex grinned. “And we’re perfectly +willing to give him a chance to help.â€</p> + +<p>“Then I’ll take him into partnership,†Captain +Joe, the man, said, “and we’ll go out hunting for +what you seek. If there is a lost channel anywhere +it will go hard if we don’t find it!â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink15'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XV—THROUGH THE FAMOUS RAPIDS</a></h2> + +<p>A special bunk, the softest and springiest that +could be made, was fitted up for Captain Joe in +the cabin that night. The old fellow so enjoyed +visiting with the boys that it was late before they +went to sleep, and so the sun was well up when they +left their beds in the morning.</p> + +<p>“Now,†Clay said, after all had indulged in a +short swim in the river, “we’re going to celebrate +the arrival of Captain Joe by one of Alex’s beefsteak +breakfasts at a restaurant. Captain Joe has +traveled so far to see us that we’re not going to +take any chances on having him poisoned by Case’s +cooking.â€</p> + +<p>“Now look here, boys,†Captain Joe remonstrated, +“I’ve had a good many restaurant meals +along the South Branch since you boys deserted +me, and a chef has been cooking for me on the +Rutland boat, so I propose that we get breakfast +right here, on the <i>Rambler</i>. It will be a novelty +for me, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>“What would you like, Captain?†asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“Well,†said Captain Joe almost smacking his +lips, “you know the kind of pancakes they serve +at the Bismark, Chicago? They’re half an inch +thick, you know, and as large as the bottom of a +milk pan. Cost a quarter apiece, and a fellow +doesn’t want anything more to eat all day! Now, +you go ahead and make pancakes like we used to +get at the Bismark.â€</p> + +<p>“And eggs, and ham, and beans, and coffee, +and fried potatoes, and canned peaches?†asked +Case. “We’re sure going to celebrate, Captain +Joe.â€</p> + +<p>“Well boys,†said the old captain, “if you want +to go and make provision tanks of yourselves, you +can do it, but for my part, I’m going to be careful +in my eating, as I’m getting old! Just rig me up +a simple little meal consisting of eight or ten of +those twenty-five cent pancakes and half a dozen +eggs and three or four cups of coffee, and I’ll try +to worry through the day.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t see how you can get along with +anything less than a dozen pancakes and a gallon of +coffee,†laughed Clay, “and I’ll go on shore and +buy a box of the finest cigars to be had in Ogdensburg.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe held up a warning finger.</p> + +<p>“Now look here, boys,†he said, “you know +how I used to pull away at that dirty old pipe on +the South Branch. I used to be ashamed of myself, +smoking up your quarters, so after you left +I quit the weed entirely. I haven’t smoked a pipe +or cigar for a long time,†he added, proudly.</p> + +<p>And so the breakfast was prepared as Captain +Joe directed. The boys set out what little honey +Teddy hadn’t succeeded in getting hold of, and +the pancakes were greatly enjoyed. But the Captain +didn’t finish his stunt.</p> + +<p>“You boys are mighty good to an old man like +me,†he said.</p> + +<p>“Mighty good!†repeated Clay. “Don’t you +remember when some sneak stole all the money +we had been saving for a year to take us on the +Amazon trip? Don’t you remember how we hustled +and got a little more together, and how you +were afraid we wouldn’t have enough, and might +go broke in the Andes, and you took two hundred +dollars and put it in a packet and told us to open +it when we got into trouble? There is nothing on +this boat you can’t have, Captain Joe.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†said the old man, “I didn’t need the +money, and, besides, I got it back. It didn’t cost +me anything to lend it.â€</p> + +<p>“We needed it, though,†grinned Alex, “and +we might have been back there yet if we hadn’t +had it. You’re the luckiest man I know of or it +would never have been returned. And we were +lucky, too.â€</p> + +<p>“And now, if you don’t mind,†said Captain +Joe, “we’ll cut all this talk out. I’m going to stay +with you boys just as long as you’ll let me, and +I don’t want to hear any more talk about that consarned +two hundred dollars. I’ve heard too much +already.â€</p> + +<p>“We think of it every time we see the white +bulldog,†laughed Case.</p> + +<p>“By the way,†said the Captain, “I’ve got that +two hundred dollars in my jeans this minute, and +if you should happen to want any of it just let +me know. I really don’t know what to do with +it.â€</p> + +<p>“Pigs will be flying when we use any more +of your money, Captain Joe,†Alex smiled. +“We’ve got plenty of our own.â€</p> + +<p>After breakfast, with Captain Joe at the helm, +the boat was turned toward the Great Lakes. It +was seven o’clock when they left Ogdensburg and +at ten they were at Alexandria Bay.</p> + +<p>“Suppose we keep on the Canadian side going +up,†Captain Joe suggested, “and then, when we +come back, we can take the American side.â€</p> + +<p>“Can you take the boat up and back without +knocking off any of these headlands?†asked +Alex with a wink at the Captain.</p> + +<p>“Look here, young man,†replied the Captain +not at all offended, “I was dipping the water into +this river before you were born. I can take this +boat within an inch of every island and crag and +headland between here and Lake Ontario and +never scrape off an ounce of paint. I’ve sailed on +the ocean, too, and all up and down the Great +Lakes. This St. Lawrence river was always like +a little pet kitten to me.â€</p> + +<p>According to this suggestion, the captain left +Alexandria Bay to the south and proceeded over +to the Canadian side. The boat was now just +starting in on its run through the famous Thousand +Islands.</p> + +<p>Many times it seemed to the boys as if Captain +Joe intended to run the craft directly through +some of the magnificent cottages located high +above the river, but always the boat turned just +in time to keep in foot-clear water. The boys stood +leaning on the gunwale for hours watching the +splendid panorama of the river.</p> + +<p>There were islands rich with verdure; there were +islets brown and rocky, there were great level +places hemmed in by the river where magnificent +summer residences showed against the beauty of +the landscape.</p> + +<p>Now and then summer tourists hailed the <i>Rambler</i> +from the river, and occasionally girls and +boys ran down the island piers to greet her with +the waving of flags. It was a glorious trip.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe explained many features of the +stream as they passed up, and as long as the boys +lived they remembered the shimmer of the sun on +the island foliage, the white-fringed waves rumpled +by the light wind, and the voice of the kind +old man telling them the experiences of a life time.</p> + +<p>Just before sundown, after one of the +pleasantest days they ever experienced, the boys reached +Kingston. Captain Joe seemed disinclined to leave +the boat that night, and so the boys spent three +hours wandering up and down the streets of the +historic old city. Off to the west lay the famous +Bay of Quinte. Farther south was Sackett’s Harbor, +while between the two lay Wolfe island, stuck +into the mouth of the St. Lawrence river like a +great plug. The boys enjoyed the night ramble +immensely.</p> + +<p>“Now, Captain Joe,†Clay said in the morning, +“suppose we circle Wolfe island, inspect the light +house at Cape Vincent, and spend part of a day at +Sackett’s Harbor? I don’t know of any better +way to spend the next twelve hours than in making +a trip like that.â€</p> + +<p>“Sackett’s Harbor was a military point during +the last war with Great Britain,†Jule said, “and +I’d like to look over the town.â€</p> + +<p>“Nothing much doing there now in the way of +guns and soldiers,†Captain Joe said, “but, as you +say, it would pay you well to spend a day on the +waters in this vicinity. You may never have the +chance again.â€</p> + +<p>So the <i>Rambler</i> headed for Cape Vincent, +where they stopped long enough to inspect the big +light, first taking a view of Sackett’s Harbor. +About noon, they came to Clayton, where they +paused long enough to inspect several groups of +islands on the American side.</p> + +<p>Then, with Captain Joe still at the helm, the +boat passed down to Alexandria Bay where they +tied up for the night.</p> + +<p>“To-morrow,†Captain Joe said, as the boys +made great inroads on the Bismark pancakes +stacked up on the table, “I’ll take you through the +Lachine rapids. You’ll find we’ll have to go +some.â€</p> + +<p>“You haven’t got any government license!†+laughed Alex.</p> + +<p>“No,†said the old Captain, “I’m not an ignorant +Indian. I can read and write, and so I can’t +get a government license, but I’ll tell you what I +can do. I can take this boat down the Lachine +without getting a drop of water on the deck.â€</p> + +<p>The Captain was a little bit inclined to tell what +he had done and what he could do, but his stories +were all truthful and interesting, so the boys rather +enjoyed them, and the captain enjoyed talking.</p> + +<p>“You needn’t think we’re going to fly through +the air on this trip,†Jule said winking at the Captain. +“We’re going to take about two days to +get down to the Lachine. We’ll loaf along the +river to-morrow, making about one hundred miles, +tie up for the night, and reach Lachine in the +afternoon of the day after. What do you think of +that for a program, boys?†he added, turning to +Clay.</p> + +<p>“That’s the way I figured it out,†Clay answered. +“There is no use in being in a hurry. +We’ve got all the time there is.â€</p> + +<p>Every person on the boat, except perhaps the +dog and the bear, slept soundly that night. There +was no wind, and the little bay they were in protected +them from the wash of the steamers. When +they awoke in the morning the sun was rising +round and red out of the river.</p> + +<p>That day was another one long to be remembered +by every member of the <i>Rambler</i> party. +They drifted, using the motors just enough to +give headway, fished in the clear water, and told +stories of old days on the South Branch—days +long to be remembered by them all.</p> + +<p>That night partook of the character of the last +one so far as sleep and rest were concerned. The +boat lay at a little pier not far from a rural settlement. +Early in the evening villagers came down +attracted by the clamor of the motors but soon +returned to their homes.</p> + +<p>It was on that evening that Alex made his famous +attempt to cook a river fish a la Indian. +There was something the matter with the fish, or +with the hot stones, or with the soil! At any rate, +the white bulldog and the bear cub got the supper +the boy had sweated over for an hour or more.</p> + +<p>Shortly after noon on the following day, the +<i>Rambler</i> came to the head of the Lachine rapids, +six miles above Montreal.</p> + +<p>Although the boys had every confidence in Captain +Joe as a pilot, some of them were inclined to +think that his memory of the rapids might not be +as good as his skill. Many a time during that +passage the grand and lofty tumbling of the +waters as they broke upon projecting rocks seemed +about to engulf the frail craft.</p> + +<p>Many a time the nose of the <i>Rambler</i> seemed +pointing directly at a hidden rock which sent the +river spouting into the air like the “blow†of a +great whale. Many a time the wayward current +caught the prow and twisted it about until it +seemed as if the boat would never respond to her +rudder again.</p> + +<p>But the eyes of the captain were true, the arms +of the old sailing man were strong, and so the boat +always came back to the course he had mapped out +for her. When at last the rapids were passed, the +boys were greatly relieved.</p> + +<p>During the excitement of the trip, little fear had +been felt after the first plunge, but now that it +was over, they realized that they had been in absolute +peril. Almost with the momentum which had +carried the <i>Rambler</i> down the Lachine, the boat +came to a pier on the river front at Montreal. +Looking about, the boys saw that they were almost +in the location where they had tied up before.</p> + +<p>Clay sprang ashore, hastened to a telephone, +talked eagerly for a few moments and then returned +to the <i>Rambler</i>. Captain Joe sat out on the +prow and the boy took a deck stool beside him.</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe,†the boy asked, “what would +have taken place if we had run out of gasoline +while navigating the rapids?â€</p> + +<p>The captain eyed the boy with surprise showing +on his weather-beaten face. He poked Clay in +the ribs before answering.</p> + +<p>“Why do you ask an old captain a foolish question +like that?†he said.</p> + +<p>“I’m asking for information,†was the reply. +“Tell me what would have happened. I really +want to know.â€</p> + +<p>“Well,†Captain Joe replied, scratching his +chin meditatively, “if the gasoline had given out +in the rapids, just about this time there would be +a lot of boards bumping against the rocks, and +a motor rusting in the bottom of the river, and +five human beings, a bulldog and a bear floating +out toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s just what I thought,†Clay exclaimed. +“That’s just why I was scared stiff when I found +out that we were just about out of gasoline as we +struck the head of the rapids.â€</p> + +<p>“And you never said a word about it,†asked +the captain, “to any of the boys? You kept it all +to yourself?â€</p> + +<p>“Huh,†replied Clay, “where was the use in +scaring the fellows out of a year’s growth. Didn’t +you notice my cap walking straight up into the +air? That was because my hair lifted it.â€</p> + +<p>“Boy, boy,†expostulated Captain Joe, “don’t +lie to the old man. I don’t believe you were scared +at all.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, anyway,†replied Clay, “the tanks are +empty, and there will be a wagon down here pretty +quick to fill them up. Now mind you, I’m not going +to say a word to the other boys about this. If +I do, they’ll never get over roasting me. We +should have taken on gasoline at Kingston, but +I forgot all about it.â€</p> + +<p>“Do you remember what you told me about this +Lawyer Martin?†asked Captain Joe. “He seems +to be the lawyer leading the band of ruffians who +are trying to keep the lost channel lost forever!â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†replied Clay, “and I was just going to +speak about that. It was in Montreal that we met +him, disguised as a riverside character, and I was +wondering if it might not be well to go ashore and +look him up.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t you ever think of doing that,†Captain +Joe replied. “You get your gasoline and lay in +additional pancake material and we’ll go on down +the river to Cartier island. That’s what they +call that peninsula, isn’t it? Let me tell you this,†+the old man added, “if you have anything more +to do with this man Martin, you let him be the +one to do the looking up.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s good sense, too,†agreed Clay. “He +might discover that we were on our way back if +we went up into the city. So we’ll remain quiet +to-night and set out for Cartier island and the lost +channel early to-morrow morning.â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink16'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XVI—A CALL FROM WRECKERS</a></h2> + +<p>Nothing occurred to disturb the slumbers of +the <i>Rambler’s</i> crew that night. The cool wind +made the cabin of the boat comfortable, and the +street lights of Montreal winked down upon the +craft with friendly eyes. The afternoon of the +following day found them at Quebec.</p> + +<p>“I’ve been thinking,†Clay said as the boat tied +up at the pier they had occupied on the occasion +of their former visit, “that we ought not to keep +this stolen canoe. Of course Max stole it.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps he’ll come down here and claim it +again,†suggested Jule.</p> + +<p>“If he does,†Alex exclaimed, “I’m going on +shore to find him and get even with him. He’d no +business to bring that gang of wharf rats onto us. +I hope he’s under arrest somewhere.â€</p> + +<p>“There’s an idea!†suggested Case. “Suppose +we telephone to the chief of police and find out. +We can leave the canoe in the care of the chief, +too, if we want to. He might be able to find the +owner.â€</p> + +<p>“It seems to me,†Captain Joe interrupted, “that +you boys may as well keep that canoe until we return +to Quebec, on our way to the Great Lakes. It +will come in mighty handy when we’re prowling +around those two rivers you’ve been talking about. +The owner won’t miss it for a few days.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s another good notion,†Clay agreed. +“We’ll use the canoe and return it when we get +back. And now I’ll go and telephone to the chief +of police and see if he has discovered anything additional +about Max.â€</p> + +<p>Clay was gone only a short time. When he returned, +he looked a trifle anxious. When he spoke, +it was in an excited tone.</p> + +<p>“Look here, boys,†he said, “the chief of police +advises to us to give up that hunt for the lost +channel. He says that Fontenelle has just returned +from Cartier island leaving a wrecked +launch and a lot of perfectly good stores stacked +on the bottom of the river.â€</p> + +<p>“I had an idea,†Captain Joe suggested, “that +things would be moving about the time we got +down here. Why, do you know, boys,†he went +on, “that this lost channel matter is creating about +as much excitement in Quebec province as the +coronation of a new king ought to?â€</p> + +<p>“The procession seemed to start about the time +we struck the river,†Alex grinned, “and there’s +been music ever since we left St. Luce.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Clay went on, “and the newspapers +have been printing feature stories and describing +the family jewels, and the lost channel, and telling +how many land-holders would be made homeless +if the charter should ever be found and sustained. +The newspapers are always meddling with +our affairs.â€</p> + +<p>“You let the newspapers alone,†advised Captain +Joe. “They have advertised you boys, and the +<i>Rambler</i>, and the bulldog, and the bear, from one +end of this river to the other.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, what do you think about this advice +given by the chief?†asked Clay. “We ought to +reach some conclusion immediately.â€</p> + +<p>“You came down here to find that lost channel, +didn’t you?†asked Uncle Joe with a twinkle +in his eyes.</p> + +<p>“We came down here to look for it,†answered +the boy.</p> + +<p>“Well, then,†continued Captain Joe, “we’ll go +and look for it.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s what I thought!†cried Case.</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t turn back now for a million!†+yelled Alex.</p> + +<p>“Boys,†smiled Captain Joe, “I never knew +any one to get rich by changing plans every time +some fool friend advanced a contrary opinion. +When you make up your mind to do a thing, you +go right on and do it. Did you ever notice the +bulldog when he gets into a scrap?â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve seen him in several scraps,†answered +Clay.</p> + +<p>“Well,†went on the captain, “when the bulldog +gets into a fight, the harder they chew him the +tighter he hangs on, and that’s about the way all +the money and reputations have been made in this +combative world.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, we hadn’t any idea of turning back,†Clay +hastened to say. “I only wanted to know what +the others thought about it.â€</p> + +<p>“Well you found out pretty quick,†laughed +Jule. “Why, we’ve had four or five days that we +haven’t had a fight, or seen a midnight prowler, +or been dumped on a sand bar, or experienced any +other pleasant little incident of that description. I +was actually beginning to fear that our river trip +from this time on would be one long sweet dream.â€</p> + +<p>The boys passed another restful night and were +up with the sun. The first thing Alex did after +bathing and dressing was to spring to the pier and +start off into the city.</p> + +<p>“Here, here!†cried Captain Joe. “We don’t +allow little boys to go wandering off alone! If +you’ve got to go, I’m going with you.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s fine!†shouted Alex, capering about +on his toes. “Come along, and we’ll take the old +town to pieces to see what makes it tick.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m going uptown,†Alex explained as they +mounted one of the sidling streets which led up +from the river, “to buy a porterhouse steak that +weighs ten pounds. This will be our last chance.â€</p> + +<p>“Now,†said Captain Joe mildly, “don’t you +think a porterhouse steak weighing nine pounds +and a half would be enough for our breakfast?â€</p> + +<p>“But we ain’t going to have this steak for breakfast,†+Alex protested. “I’m going to put this +steak in that cute little cold air refrigerator of ours +and when wet get down to Cartier island, I’m going +to cook a beefsteak a la brigand. If you eat +a steak cooked in that way once, you’ll never want +one cooked any other way. It’s simply great!â€</p> + +<p>“It’s a new one on me,†replied Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“Oh, well,†Alex said, “I’ll show you all about +cooking it when the time comes. When we get +back to the South Branch, you can have one every +day if you want it. We can get pretty good porterhouse +in Chicago.â€</p> + +<p>The two strolled through the city for a couple +of hours, buying vegetables, condensed milk, tinned +goods, fresh fruit and meats. Later, when the +provisions were delivered to the <i>Rambler</i> at the +foot of the pier, Case declared that Alex had +spent money enough to take them all over Europe. +Alex was somewhat disappointed to think that +he had not encountered Max in the city, but did +not inform his chums how keenly he had watched +for him.</p> + +<p>“What did the chief of police say about Max?†+asked the boy as they returned to the boat. “You +forgot to say anything about that.â€</p> + +<p>“Sure I did,†answered Clay. “Well, he said +that Max had blossomed out in a suit that must +have cost a hundred, with a big roll of money in +his pocket. He said, too, that he had strutted +around the city for a few days and then suddenly +disappeared. It is the opinion of the chief that +the boy, who is by no means as young as he looks, +went down the river to Cartier island.â€</p> + +<p>“I really hope he has,†Alex blurted out, “I’ll +crack that boy’s crust if I ever come across him.â€</p> + +<p>“And you’ll wash dishes, too,†laughed Captain +Joe. “Oh, I remember how you boys used to +fight against slang up on the South Branch.â€</p> + +<p>That night the boys anchored the <i>Rambler</i> in a +cove of good size just south of Rivere du Loup. +They were well away from the wash of the steamers, +and yet not near enough to the houses of the +little railway station to attract general attention.</p> + +<p>The night closed down cloudy and dark. The +passing vessels on the river seemed to burn holes +in the darkness for only an instant and then disappear.</p> + +<p>The sounds which came from the water rang +loudly in the heavy atmosphere and sounded mysterious +and uncanny. There were plenty of vessels +on the river now, as the channel between the +gulf and Quebec is navigable for the largest ocean +steamers.</p> + +<p>While the boys lay in the cabin, sheltered from +the gulf wind which had been so grateful the night +before, the heavy rumbling of a freight train and +sharp call of an engine whistle came to their ears.</p> + +<p>“That listens good to me,†Alex cried. “Say, +fellows, how would you like to know, just for a +couple of hours, that the noise of that train came +from the Union station in little old Chicago?â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Jule exclaimed, “I like to look into the +river and think I’m standing on Madison street +bridge! Do you remember the stories the newspapers +used to print about the water in the Chicago +river, before the drainage canal was put +through? Pretty good fiction, eh?â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe chuckled until his shoulders shook +like jelly.</p> + +<p>“Every reporter on the Chicago papers in those +days,†the captain said, “was turning out works +of fiction. They used to print pieces about men +falling off Madison street bridge and off Clark +street bridge and dashing out their brains on the +solid water below. And then they used to tell +stories about the river being so black the typists +used to color their ribbons in it. There’s something +about Chicago that seems to me to stir the +imagination! It’s a great old town!â€</p> + +<p>The boys discussed their home city until something +like ten o’clock. They were just going to +bed when a call came from the shore at the end of +the cove. All were on deck instantly.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps that’s Max,†suggested Jule, “or one +of those river pirates.â€</p> + +<p>“Or it may be a detachment of ruffians looking +for the lost channel,†Case put in.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe sat back and laughed heartily.</p> + +<p>“Boys,†he said, “I believe that lost channel +has turned your heads. You talk about it, and +drink it, and sleep it, and I believe you would eat it +if there was anything tangible about it. I’m interested +in it, too, kids, but I don’t spread it on +my bread instead of butter.â€</p> + +<p>“Hello, the boat,†came the hail from the shore.</p> + +<p>“What do you want?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“I want to come on board.â€</p> + +<p>“Beds all full,†answered Alex.</p> + +<p>“But I want to talk with you,†insisted the +strange voice.</p> + +<p>“All right,†Clay said, “proceed with your conversation.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m not here to confide to the whole countryside +what I want to say to you,†was the angry +reply.</p> + +<p>Clay was considering a sarcastic rejoinder but +Case laid a warning hand on his shoulder.</p> + +<p>“There may be something in this,†the boy +said. “Suppose two of us get into the boat and +go over and see.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t you think of such a thing,†Captain Joe +advised. “That fellow may not have a boat of +his own, but if he is of any account at all, he can +get one long enough to row out to the <i>Rambler</i>. +The place for him to talk to us is right on this +deck. It may be a trap.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s good sense, too,†Clay agreed. “He +can go away if he doesn’t want to comply with +our requirements. He may be only a tramp seeking +a ride on the river. There are plenty of such +characters here.â€</p> + +<p>“I wish he would come aboard,†Clay suggested, +“and I’ll see if I can’t coax him,†he added, +turning toward the shore and making a trumpet +of his hands. “Perhaps he already has a boat.â€</p> + +<p>“Hello, the shore,†he called, “we’re going +away directly, so if you want to talk with us, you’d +better row out.â€</p> + +<p>“You always was the boy with a little prevarication +on the end of your tongue!†suggested Alex. +“We’re not going away directly.â€</p> + +<p>“Morning is directly,†laughed Clay turning +toward the shore again.</p> + +<p>“Are you coming on board?†he asked.</p> + +<p>“I haven’t got any boat,†was the reply. “Why +can’t you send one over?â€</p> + +<p>Clay’s reply elicited a volley of epithets from +the shore, and directly a great blaze sprang up not +many feet distant from the water.</p> + +<p>“Wreckers!†cried Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“Surest thing you know!†answered Clay. +“The only wonder is that they didn’t set their +beacon going before.â€</p> + +<p>“And this,†Jule suggested, “seems to be more +like real life. Things are livening up. They’ll be +going good by the time we get to St. Luce.â€</p> + +<p>“They may be going too fast!†warned the old +captain.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink17'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XVII—CAPTAIN JOE’S NIGHT VISIT</a></h2> + +<p>“I really would like to know,†Case observed, +“whether those fellows are real wreckers, or +whether they have been waiting there for the <i>Rambler</i> +to come back down the river. You know the +story was printed that we were coming back to +look up the lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t know of any way of finding out unless +we go to shore,†Alex suggested, looking very +much as if he would like to pay a visit to the blaze. +“We might learn something of importance,†he +added rather coaxingly. “Suppose we do go and +see.â€</p> + +<p>“If you try to leave this boat to-night,†Clay +declared, “I’ll tie you up with one of the anchor +cables. We haven’t got any time to waste hunting +for you. So you stay on board the boat.â€</p> + +<p>Alex did not exactly like the idea of going +quietly to bed, but he was finally induced to do so.</p> + +<p>“Now,†said Captain Joe, as he stood alone on +deck with Clay, “suppose we shove over to the +other shore. Those fellows are wreckers, there is +no doubt of that, and there is no sense in our mixing +with them. If we stay here, they’ll prowl +around the <i>Rambler</i> all night, and the bulldog will +bark and the bear will growl, and it will be like +sleeping in a boiler shop. What do you say to +that?â€</p> + +<p>“That suits me exactly,†Clay answered.</p> + +<p>“Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do. From the +point where we tie to-night, we’ll pass down the +river on the north side. That will bring us in +behind Cartier island, and we can push up the west +river instead of the east one, which seemed to be +the center of activity when you were there.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s another good suggestion,†Clay agreed.</p> + +<p>“The west river,†the old captain went on, “is +a small stream in comparison with the other. +There’s a funny thing about it that I never could +understand. I was in there once, landing supplies +for a surveying party and it seemed to me then +that that stream never grew to any size until it +came within a mile or so of the isthmus which +connects the peninsula with the main shore.â€</p> + +<p>“Then there must be some tributary of good +size there,†said Clay.</p> + +<p>“That’s just the point,†the captain went on. +“There isn’t any tributary of good size there. The +peninsula is very narrow and slopes steeply to the +west. In fact, the river to the east is several feet +higher than the one on the west. That’s one reason +why I think there never was any channel through +there.â€</p> + +<p>“That is true,†Clay answered. “You see, a +channel through there, running at the rate the incline +would naturally call for, would cut a hole +through that neck of land about as wide as one of +the main rivers. Why, it would drain the big +river and turn all the water into the small stream. +At least, it looks that way to me.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, I don’t know about that,†the captain answered, +“there’s a lot of water in that east river. +Still, there’s no channel there and never was so far +as I can understand. Now, what I can’t understand +is, how this west river gets so big all at once. +There may be a creek running in at the other side, +but if there is, I never found it.â€</p> + +<p>“You seem to understand that district pretty +well,†Clay laughed.</p> + +<p>“Didn’t I tell you I knew the whole St. Lawrence +river south, north, and bottom?†demanded +the captain. “Why, when I took that load of provisions +in for the surveyors, there were Indians +enough along the shore to give a city a population +as large as Chicago’s. And there were bears, and +wolves, and deer, and beaver, and all sorts of wild +creatures in the woods—thick as berries in a +swamp.â€</p> + +<p>During this conversation the two had been +watching the shore where the light had sprung up. +With a night glass they could see figures passing +in front of the blaze, but the beacon, if such it was, +soon died down to embers, and nothing more was +heard from the shore.</p> + +<p>They both listened for the sound of oars in the +river, but none came. The tide was running in +and the current was running out, with the result +that great ranks of waves lay across the wide river +like winnows in a field of grain. The wind blew +sweeping up from the gulf, opposing the current, +and, taken altogether, it was as dangerous and +uncertain a night on the river as one could well +imagine.</p> + +<p>The <i>Rambler</i> danced and bobbed about +frightfully, drawing at her anchor and seeming to lunge +forward in the waste of water. However, she +was a staunch little craft, and the boys were used +to her capers on the waves, and so paid little attention.</p> + +<p>“They wouldn’t dare to venture out in a boat +to-night,†was Clay’s comment. “Besides,†he +added, “they know now that we are suspicious and +watchful, and, unless I am greatly in error, we will +hear no more of them.â€</p> + +<p>“Shall we go across now?†asked the captain.</p> + +<p>“I’m ready if you think we can make it.â€</p> + +<p>The captain chuckled again and his shoulders +shook.</p> + +<p>“Make it?†he repeated. “Of course we can +make it.â€</p> + +<p>“The tide and the wind are fighting the current,†+Clay suggested, “and all we’ll have to do +will be to fight the waves.â€</p> + +<p>It was rather rough getting to the north shore, +but the trip was made without accident, except that +Jule was thrown from his bunk and Captain Joe, +the dog, and Teddy protested against the storm in +ways best known to bulldogs and bears. Jule +merely rubbed his eyes and crawled back into his +bunk.</p> + +<p>They found a place to anchor where the <i>Rambler</i> +would be protected during the night by a finger +of rock running out into the river. All along the +shore to the north was a heavy forest. The trees +swayed and creaked in the wind, and now and then +a crash from the interior told of the falling of +some monarch of the forest which had doubtless +withstood the storms of the St. Lawrence valley +for hundreds of years.</p> + +<p>It was a wild night on the river and on the land, +but the boys slept peacefully until morning. As +for Captain Joe, he declared that it reminded him +so much of old nights on the banks of Newfoundland +that he wanted to sit up and refresh his recollection +of those adventurous times.</p> + +<p>Clay rather suspected that the old captain was +too apprehensive of evil from the wreckers, or +accidents from the storm, to go to bed, but he let +him have his way, and the hardy old fellow seemed +as bright and active as ever in the morning. He +even declined to go to the cabin for rest when the +boys insisted that he ought to do so.</p> + +<p>“We’ll get rest enough when we get down to +the west river,†the captain smiled. “I can sleep +in the woods.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s just where we won’t get any rest,†Jule +urged.</p> + +<p>“Huh,†murmured Alex. “That’s where I get +my rest! The natives were so afraid that I’d tire +myself walking around that they trussed me up +like a hen. I’d just like to get a hold of some of +those outlaws. They’re the limit—the worst I ever +encountered.â€</p> + +<p>“What did they do to you?†asked Captain +Joe.</p> + +<p>“Do to me?†repeated Alex. “Why, they had +a stew, or a boiled dinner, or something, cooking +in a tin pail over a fire, and they wouldn’t give me +a thing to eat. And that is the height of meanness!â€</p> + +<p>As if repenting of the violence of the day before, +and trying to make restitution for the many +blows at the sad old world, the weather that morning +was all that could have been desired. The air +was clear and sweet after its bath of rain, and the +leaves of the forest sparkled and rustled like jewels +as the sun shone upon their moist surfaces.</p> + +<p>The boys made good time that day, although they +did not feel inclined to hurry. Alex took the canoe +out in the forenoon and caught half a dozen fish +which he cleaned for dinner. The boy wanted to +go ashore and prepare the dinner a la Indian again, +but the others insisted that they really wanted a +fish dinner, so the catch was baked in the oven of +the coal stove. The boys claim to this day that +Alex consumed half of the fish that he caught, +but of course Alex disputes this.</p> + +<p>At sundown they anchored the <i>Rambler</i> within +four or five miles of the west river, in a little bay +which ran into the mainland almost behind the +westward extension of Cartier island.</p> + +<p>No lights were shown on the boat, supper having +been prepared in the dark, and the boys sat +along the deck fighting mosquitoes and listening +to the calls of the wild creatures in the woods.</p> + +<p>The point they had selected for their anchorage +was directly west of Point aux Outardes, and when +the moon rose the boys naturally turned their eyes +in that direction. Although the point was fully +four miles away, a rocky promontory could be +seen standing sharply out against the dark line of +the forest.</p> + +<p>“Captain,†Alex said, as they sat back of the +gunwale on the prow, “I wish you’d take this glass +and see what you can discover on that point.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe took the glass into his hand and +held it for a long time, swinging it back and forth +over the shore to the north, and over the river line +of Cartier island. Then he handed it back to Alex.</p> + +<p>“I’ll tell you,†he said slowly, “there’s a campfire +over on the point, and there are many people +around it. At least I see figures moving back and +forth.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps that is a base of supplies for the fellows +who are trying to find the lost channel in +order to beat Fontenelle to the charter and the +family jewels,†Clay suggested.</p> + +<p>“It doesn’t seem as if they would camp in so +conspicuous a place.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, I don’t know about that,†Case said, “they +have nothing to fear from officers or wreckers. +They are only hunting for a lost treasure, which +any one may find who is lucky enough to get to it.â€</p> + +<p>“Let’s go and call on them,†suggested Alex.</p> + +<p>“I prefer to live a little longer,†Case laughed.</p> + +<p>“Aw, come on, they won’t hurt us,†Alex argued, +“I’m going.â€</p> + +<p>The boys laughed at the idea and Alex said no +more about the proposed excursion, but Clay suggested +to Captain Joe after the others were in their +bunks:</p> + +<p>“We must watch that little rascal, or he’ll get +up in the night and run over there. He’s always +doing tricks of that kind, and some time he’ll get +into serious trouble.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe pretended to regard the situation +as very serious, and said that he would see that +Alex didn’t get away from the boat that night. +With this Clay seemed contented. The old captain +insisted on keeping watch again that night, +but if the boys had been about the deck they would +have seen very little of him, for all that.</p> + +<p>As soon as the others were asleep, the captain +untied the tow line of the canoe, stepped softly +into it, and paddled away in the direction of the +north shore. So far as possible he kept the bulk +of the <i>Rambler</i> between himself and the point +where the light had been seen.</p> + +<p>Reaching the margin of the bay, he turned to +the east and paddled straight to the mouth of the +west river. After an hour of steady work, he +reached a point a little east and directly north of +Point aux Outardes. Nothing could be seen of +the fire or the figures about it from the north, and +the captain boldly crossed the arm of the bay +stretching in behind Cartier island. In half an +hour he was on the island itself, and separated only +by a few rods of mingled rocks and bushes from +the point.</p> + +<p>Advancing cautiously to the south he came +within view of the blaze and within hearing of +much of the conversation going on there.</p> + +<p>The night hours passed slowly. The moon +swung to the south and off to the west, and the +shadows lay long in the forest before the old captain +moved from his point of observation. Then +with a chuckle he crept back to his canoe, and long +before the boys were out of their bunks he was +fishing over the gunwale of the <i>Rambler</i> in the +most innocent manner imaginable. The old fellow +chuckled as he dropped his line.</p> + +<p>“That bay stretching in behind the peninsula,†+he mused, “looks to me just as it did a good many +years ago. No improvements seem to have been +made there notwithstanding the work of the surveyors, +and the country is just as desolate as it +was then. If I had had a little more time I might +have paddled up to the mouth of the west river +and looked over the situation there, but daylight +showed too soon.â€</p> + +<p>“What’s that you’re muttering about?†asked +Alex clapping a hand on the old captain’s arm. +“You must be talking in your sleep.â€</p> + +<p>“Not that any one knows of,†chuckled the old +captain. “I was only saying that from here the +country looks exactly as it used to.â€</p> + +<p>“And my stomach feels exactly as it used to,†+Alex declared. “You catch the fish, and I’ll cook +’em, and we’ll tumble the boys out for breakfast. +They’re sleeping too long, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>This program was followed to the letter, and +before noon the <i>Rambler</i> lay up the west river +about a mile from the bay creeping in behind Cartier +island. At first no one left the boat, however.</p> + +<p>“Do you remember what the chief of police +said about Fontenelle’s boat and a lot of perfectly +good provisions lying on the bottom of the river?†+asked Clay as the boys lounged on deck.</p> + +<p>“Indeed I do,†replied Case. “I’ve been thinking +it would be a fine thing if we could find that +boat.â€</p> + +<p>“I have found it!†Clay exclaimed.</p> + +<p>“Yes, you have!†Case said, doubtfully.</p> + +<p>“Sure, I have,†Clay went on. “When we +swung in past Point aux Outarde, you were all +watching the point to see what had become of the +men who camped there last night, while I was +searching the bay on the north side looking for +some signs of the wreck of the <i>Cartier</i>.â€</p> + +<p>“And you found it, did you?†Case cried excitedly.</p> + +<p>“Sure, I found it,†Clay declared. “It lays +bottom down in about fifteen feet of water, with +the top of the cabin showing plainly.â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink18'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XVIII—IT IS NOW CLAY’S TURN</a></h2> + +<p>“Do you think we can raise her?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“We can if she has any bottom left,†declared +Clay. “If they only cut a few holes in her and +sunk her that way, we can get her out.â€</p> + +<p>“Aw, what’s the good of taking up time with +the old wreck!†demanded Alex, who had listened +to the conversation. “It isn’t our boat, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>“But the <i>Cartier</i> is a splendid launch, and worth +a lot of money,†Clay suggested, “and we might +pay the expenses of the trip by getting her out for +the Fontenelles. It won’t do any harm to try.â€</p> + +<p>“All right!†Alex cried. “Just remember I’m +the champion long distance diver, when you get +ready to go down and look her over.â€</p> + +<p>After breakfast the <i>Rambler</i> was taken still farther +upstream, as far up, in fact, as the depth of +the water would permit.</p> + +<p>“There!†Captain Joe observed, pointing to a +bend just above the prow of the boat. “This is +the strange thing that I called your attention to. +The river widens here in the most mysterious manner.â€</p> + +<p>“It may be just back water,†Clay ventured.</p> + +<p>“No sir!†answered the captain. “There is +no back water here. See how steadily the current +runs? And there’s no creek running in, +either.â€</p> + +<p>“Then there must be a subterranean stream running—â€</p> + +<p>Clay checked himself with the sentence half +finished.</p> + +<p>“Suppose,†he mused, “just suppose, there +should be a subterranean stream running in from +under the hills—let us say from the north. That +would be a channel, wouldn’t it? And it might be +a lost channel at that! Why didn’t I think of that +before.â€</p> + +<p>The boy was so full of the thought, so enthusiastic +over the thing it might mean, that he concluded +to make a quiet investigation on his own +hook, saying nothing to the others regarding the +matter.</p> + +<p>“What was it you said about some underground +stream?†asked Captain Joe. “You started in to +say something about it and then stopped abruptly.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, it just occurred to me that there might be +an underground river somewhere around here, but +I guess that’s just a dream. There couldn’t be any +river, you see, for the ground is rocky, and there +seems to be no place for an underground stream to +get its supply.â€</p> + +<p>“No,†the old captain agreed, “there can’t be +any underground stream that’s a sure thing. If +there are caverns they are dry.â€</p> + +<p>Clay chuckled to himself, and went into the +cabin after Alex.</p> + +<p>“Come on, Redhead!†he cried catching the boy +by the arm. “We are now going ashore to dig up +the lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s a nice pleasant little job, too!†Alex +declared.</p> + +<p>“Well, come on,†Clay insisted. “We’ll go +over and make a start, anyway. We may be able +to find out if the outlaws are really here.â€</p> + +<p>Explaining to Captain Joe and the others that +they were going only a short distance from the +shore, the boys launched the canoe and were soon +on the sloping shore of the peninsula. Once across +they hid their canoe in a thicket which overhung +the stream and disappeared in the interior.</p> + +<p>“Now, look here,†Clay said as he stopped and +sat deliberately down in the shade of a great tree, +“I’ve got an idea.â€</p> + +<p>Alex stared hard in pretended wonder and +amazement.</p> + +<p>“Where did you get it?†he asked.</p> + +<p>“Brain cell opened and gave it to me,†Clay answered.</p> + +<p>“Well, come across with it,†Alex urged.</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe wants to know where the water +comes from to make the west river so large at its +mouth,†Clay went on. “I started in to tell him +that there might be a subterranean stream somewhere +hereabouts, but I thought he would laugh at +me and so kept my mouth shut.â€</p> + +<p>Alex sprang to his feet and swung round and +round on his heels, chuckling and shaking hands +with himself.</p> + +<p>“That’s the idea!†he cried. “That’s just the +idea! There is a subterranean stream here somewhere! +Look at the way the rocks are piled up, +and look at the long slope from the top of the +ridges to the level of the river. There are catch +basins here somewhere, and water pouring into the +river that no one knows anything about.â€</p> + +<p>“Now go a little farther,†Clay suggested. +“Figure that at some time, say two or three hundred +years ago, this subterranean channel lay open +to the sun. Now what do you make of it?â€</p> + +<p>“Holy smoke!†almost shouted Alex. “I make +a lost channel!â€</p> + +<p>“There you are!†Clay began, “and all we’ve +got to do is to just look around and find it. We’ve +got plenty of time.â€</p> + +<p>“That will be some cheerful job, too,†Alex +commented. “We’ve only got about forty thousand +square miles of territory to look over.â€</p> + +<p>“I think,†Clay said, “that we have the idea, +and that is the main thing. The rest is only a +matter of detail.â€</p> + +<p>As the boys sat under the tree, Alex having +dropped down to the turf again, a rustling of bushes +was heard to the east and they turned in that direction, +scanning the thicket closely. Then Alex +seized Clay by the arm and pointed away through +the underbrush.</p> + +<p>“Did you ever see that figure before?†he +asked.</p> + +<p>“Looks to me to be about the size of Max,†+Clay answered. “I wonder if he is watching us, +or whether he is only looking in the direction of +the <i>Rambler</i>. Anyway, we’d better move.â€</p> + +<p>The boys shifted their position some yards to +the north and crouched down again. The bushes +showed motion once more, and they saw the figure +they had observed moving toward the bank of the +west river.</p> + +<p>“He never saw us!†cried Alex. “He is sneaking +down on the <i>Rambler</i>.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Clay replied, “and there are two or three +just behind him.â€</p> + +<p>“I had an idea,†Alex chuckled, “that things +would begin to liven up as soon as we got into this +country. This will please Captain Joe!â€</p> + +<p>“Captain Joe,†Clay replied, “seems inclined +to take things rather seriously. The chances are +that he is wondering now, night and day, how four +rattleheaded boys ever got so far over the world +without being murdered or sent to the penitentiary. +Still, he isn’t always passing out advice.â€</p> + +<p>From their new shelter, the boys now saw Max +and three men pass to the west and stand under a +screen of boughs looking down toward the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>“The war is on, I guess,†Clay said. “Those +fellows were here waiting for us to come back. +Did it ever occur to you that they know about our +having that mysterious map?â€</p> + +<p>“Now you’ve said something,†Alex exclaimed. +“That map was intended for those opposing the +Fontenelles. It was given to us by mistake, and +the people who should have had it know that we’ve +got it. That’s why they’re watching us so. Wonder +we never thought of that before.â€</p> + +<p>“It seems to me that you’ve struck it right,†Clay +answered. “They’ve been waiting here all this +time for us to come back it seems.â€</p> + +<p>“Then I should think they’d keep out of sight +until we get busy looking for the channel. They +surely won’t want to drive us away before we demonstrate +what we know about it.â€</p> + +<p>“I presume they think they are keeping out of +sight,†Clay decided.</p> + +<p>“Well, they’re not keeping very close watch, for +they don’t seem to know that we’re on shore.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t be too sure of that,†Clay answered. +“They may be watching us this minute. Perhaps +we’d better move.â€</p> + +<p>As the boys spoke, Max and his three companions +started at a swift pace up the bank of the +stream keeping always out of view of the boat. +They passed the place where the boys lay in hiding +and for a moment the lads heard them pushing +through the underbrush.</p> + +<p>“They’ve probably gone to their tent now,†+Alex suggested, “and I’m going to follow on and +see if I can locate them.â€</p> + +<p>“All right,†Clay said, “only be careful. I’ll +go back to the boat and tell the boys what’s going +on. Be sure you don’t get captured, now,†he added +as Alex turned to the thicket to the north.</p> + +<p>“No danger of that,†the boy grinned and the +next moment he was out of sight, pushing through +the thicket in the direction taken by Max.</p> + +<p>Clay stood for an instant longer where the boy +had left him and then moved in the direction of +the river.</p> + +<p>But his progress toward the stream came to an +abrupt termination in a minute. He tripped over +what he at first believed to be a running vine and +fell to the ground. Then, as he lifted himself to +a sitting position, he saw the obstacle over which +he had fallen was a rope and that it was held in +the hands of two evil looking men.</p> + +<p>The men, bearded and dirty, broke into a laugh +over Clay’s look of amazement. They sprang toward +him and in a moment he was relieved of his +weapons. The boy sat perfectly still, for the attack +had come so suddenly that he could hardly comprehend +the situation.</p> + +<p>“Ain’t it the cute little child?†guffawed one +of the men, slapping his knees and bending down to +look the boy in the face.</p> + +<p>“He’s all of that,†replied the other. “This is +the little boy that’s come out here to find a hidden +channel that no one else can find. He used to be +a real cute little newsboy in Chicago, and directly +he’ll wish he was back selling newspapers on Clark +street!</p> + +<p>“Are these all the poppers you have, kid?†he +asked pointing to the revolvers which had been +taken from the boy. “You might injure yourself +by carrying them.â€</p> + +<p>Clay glanced at the fellow steadily. He had +now in a measure recovered his equilibrium. His +impulse was to smash a blow into the grinning face +bent over him.</p> + +<p>He didn’t like the black, matted beard. He objected +to the greasy, frayed jacket. The man’s +snaky, near-set eyes offended him. More than once +he drew back a clenched fist to strike the evil +face.</p> + +<p>“It seems to me,†the boy said, restraining himself +with a great effort, “that I walked right into +a den and found the snakes at home.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes, little one,†the man replied, “We sort of +dipped you up in a bottle. I bet my chum, here, a +dollar that he wouldn’t get you the first time he +tried. I lose, so you’d better pass out the dough +and I’ll pay up. I always pay my sporting debts.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps you’d better take the whole roll,†+Clay said, producing a small handful of change and +passing it over. “You’ll get it in time, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>The man took the money, counted it slowly with +clumsy fingers and thrust it into a pocket.</p> + +<p>“As long as you have money, you know,†Clay +said sneeringly, “you won’t have to be taking pennies +away from children or stealing from blind +men. You’re quite welcome to what I have.â€</p> + +<p>“You just cut that stuff quick,†snarled the man +rising to his feet, his face blotching red. “Cut +that quick!â€</p> + +<p>He might have struck the boy only his companion +drew him away.</p> + +<p>“Keep back, you fool,†the cooler man said, +“Do you want him to bring all the others here +with his yelping? Why, we can’t even shoot him +till sundown, so we’d better gag him to keep him +from squealing.â€</p> + +<p>“You needn’t worry about me squealing,†Clay +said. “I learned how to keep my mouth shut +when you ruffians were serving your last sentence +in the penitentiary.â€</p> + +<p>One of the men drew out a knife and flashed it +angrily before the boy’s face.</p> + +<p>“Keep a civil tongue in your head,†he said, +“and you, Ben, chase up to the north and get the +kid that followed Max. We’ll tie ’em up together.â€</p> + +<p>Clay was now drawn to his feet and his hands +tied tightly behind his back. In this condition, he +was marched swiftly through the brush, vines and +boughs striking his unprotected face. He paid +little attention, however, to his physical discomforts. +He was listening for some indication of the +capture of Alex.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink19'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XIX—A SPLASH OF WATER</a></h2> + +<p>Much to Clay’s amazement, his captor kept to +the east following a ridge of rocks from which both +rivers might be seen in the distance whenever the +foliage did not intervene. After walking half a +mile or more, the fellow turned his steps into a +narrow gully and soon entered a natural cavern +before which a campfire had been built.</p> + +<p>“Now, you pretty little creature,†he said, addressing +Clay, “you’re going to be tied up here and +left until you return the map which was given to +you by mistake.â€</p> + +<p>“A map of what?†asked Clay instantly.</p> + +<p>“A map of this country,†was the short reply.</p> + +<p>“I’m not giving out maps at present,†the boy +answered.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps you will be, after you get good and +hungry,†snarled the other.</p> + +<p>“In the first place,†Clay said, “I haven’t got +the map. I couldn’t get it for you if I wanted to. +The boys wouldn’t give it up.â€</p> + +<p>“So you admit that you’ve got it?â€</p> + +<p>“I did have a rough drawing of this country,†+was the reply, “but it didn’t seem to mean much to +me.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s the document we want,†the outlaw said, +“and the quicker you give it up and get out of this +district, the safer your hide will be.â€</p> + +<p>Before Clay could make any response the man +who had set off in pursuit of Alex came wrathfully +into the cave. One hand was bleeding profusely, +and there was a long cut on his left cheek. +His clothing was disarranged, showing every evidence +of a physical struggle.</p> + +<p>“Where’s the kid, Ben?†was asked.</p> + +<p>The man’s reply was a volley of epithets and profanity.</p> + +<p>“You never let him get away from you, did +you?†asked the other angrily. “You might bring +him in in your pocket.â€</p> + +<p>“You couldn’t bring him in in a dray,†answered +Ben. “You might as well try to wrestle +with a bumble bee. I got a grip on the little imp’s +collar, but before I could do a thing, he had a +knife out. And then I got this,†laying a dirty +finger on a dirtier hand, “and this,†pointing to +the bleeding cheek. “And the next I knew, he was +out of sight in the jungle.â€</p> + +<p>“You’re the brave boy!†snarled the other.</p> + +<p>“Look here, Steve,†Ben said, “if you think it’s +such a fine stunt to seize a Chicago newsboy, you +just go and try it yourself. I’ve had enough of it. +And that’s no fairy tale.â€</p> + +<p>Ben threw himself angrily on the floor of the +cave, took a bottle of liquor and a roll of white +cloth from under a fur robe which lay in a corner +and proceeded to cleanse and bind up his wound. +Clay watched him with a smile on his face. Steve +was scowling frightfully.</p> + +<p>“You needn’t look so pleased over it, young feller,†+the outlaw said. “We’ll get that little imp, +yet. And we’ll get your boat and your whole crew. +And if we have much more trouble, we’ll start a +cemetery right here.â€</p> + +<p>Clay made no reply at the time. He was wondering +just how much the outlaws knew of the map. +It seemed to him that the person who had drawn +the first one might easily draw a second upon the +loss of the first. He could not understand why the +outlaws were making such strenuous efforts to secure +the document when they might have procured +a copy.</p> + +<p>“What was it you said about a map?†the boy +finally asked of Steve who sat now scowling at +Ben. “Where did the map come from?â€</p> + +<p>“It came from a blooming Indian,†was the +sullen reply.</p> + +<p>The fellow answered the question so promptly +that Clay decided that he was merely a cheap tool +in the employ of some master mind.</p> + +<p>“Well,†the boy went on, “why are you bothering +us about it? Why don’t you go and get him to +make another?â€</p> + +<p>Steve hesitated and Clay listened very impatiently +indeed for his answer. Finally the outlaw +spoke:</p> + +<p>“Blest if I know,†he said. “We were told to +get the map and that’s all we know about it.â€</p> + +<p>“And if you can’t get it?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Then all we’ve got to do is to start a graveyard. +If we can’t get it, no one else shall use it. +Mind that!â€</p> + +<p>“How long have you been waiting here for the +<i>Rambler</i> to come back down the river?†asked the +boy.</p> + +<p>“Look here,†replied Steve, apparently regretting +his previous loquacity. “I’ve known a whole +lot of boys to get along in the world without asking +so many questions.â€</p> + +<p>As he spoke he arose, went to the mouth of +the cavern and glanced out. Ben followed him +with the one eye which was free of the bandage, +but did not arise. Directly a stone broke loose +from a side of the gully and went pounding down +to the rocky bottom. Then a low whistle was +heard.</p> + +<p>“Come on in,†shouted Steve. “We did our +part. What about you?â€</p> + +<p>The man who entered was roughly dressed. His +face was covered by a week’s growth of beard. +His long black hair hung straggly about his ears. +Yet, after all, the carriage of the head and body +was not that of a riverman. Clay sat looking at +him for a long time wondering where he had seen +him before. He was certain that he had seen him +before. Strive as he might, however, the boy could +not associate the figure and pose with any scene in +his past life. The man advanced into the cave and +looked about.</p> + +<p>“Where is the other boy?†he asked sharply.</p> + +<p>Steve threw out a hand to indicate flight and +snapped his fingers significantly. The newcomer +frowned.</p> + +<p>“And so you let him get away, did you?â€</p> + +<p>“Ask Ben about that,†Steve replied, pointing +to the bandaged face.</p> + +<p>In spite of the newcomer’s evident disappointment, +a smile came to his face as he looked toward +the wounded man.</p> + +<p>“He’s a bloomin’ bumble bee!†growled Ben.</p> + +<p>“And it seems that he stung you with steel,†+said the newcomer. “Brave men you are, to let a +kindergarten kid get away with you!â€</p> + +<p>“What I say is,†Ben answered, angrily, “that +you can go and get him yourself. This here beauty +mark I’ve got is enough for me.â€</p> + +<p>“Don’t get excited,†smiled the newcomer. “It +will all come out right in the wash. We’ll get them +all, in time.â€</p> + +<p>Clay began to remember the voice.</p> + +<p>“I have heard it before somewhere,†he mused. +“This man is not an outlaw in the common acceptance +of the word. He is probably the man having +this very delectable enterprise in charge.â€</p> + +<p>Then he remembered the scene on the street in +Montreal, and the story which had been told him +by the campfire up the St. Lawrence came back to +his mind.</p> + +<p>This man might be the Lawyer Martin who had +been referred to by the farmer. The lawyer, it +had been stated, was apt in private theatricals and +of pleasing personality. This man was disguised +so far as clothing went, and his conversation +showed that he was tactful and understood how to +keep on the right side of the men with whom he +mingled.</p> + +<p>The more the boy studied over the problem, the +more certain he became that the man who was +handling the unlawful enterprise, designing to keep +the Fontenelles out of their rights stood before +him.</p> + +<p>Presently Lawyer Martin, if it was he, turned a +pair of keen yet half-humorous eyes in the direction +of the boy.</p> + +<p>“Did you have a pleasant trip up the river?†he +asked.</p> + +<p>“Fine!†replied Clay. “Plenty of good sport.â€</p> + +<p>“If you had asked my advice,†the other said, +“you would have proceeded straight up the lakes +from Ogdensburg. It would have been safer.â€</p> + +<p>“If safety was the only thing we figured on when +we started away,†the boy answered, “we wouldn’t +have started at all. We would have remained at +home and gone to bed.â€</p> + +<p>“You seem to be quite a bright boy,†the other +suggested. “Why don’t you give up the map +turned over to you by mistake, and go on about +your business? That’s what you ought to do.â€</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you get another map?†asked Clay.</p> + +<p>“Because,†was the reply, “the old Indian who +made the one you have was drowned on the night +he turned it over to you.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,†Clay said, “you +come on board the <i>Rambler</i> with me and we’ll give +the map to Captain Joe, and then we’ll all go together +and deliver it to Fontenelle. It seems to +belong to him.â€</p> + +<p>“I think you’ll change your mind,†replied the +other.</p> + +<p>After a short whispered conversation with Steve +and Ben, the man left the cavern. Clay would have +given a good deal for some knowledge as to his +objective point. He believed that the outlaws had +a base of supplies other than the cavern on the peninsula, +and he was wondering if the boys on the +<i>Rambler</i> would be able to discover it.</p> + +<p>After a time Ben began drinking from the bottle +of liquor he had drawn from under the rug, and +Steve, seeing that the fellow was drinking himself +into insensibility, left the cave, first seeing that +Clay was tied hand and foot and gagged with one +of his own handkerchiefs.</p> + +<p>The boy’s position was an uncomfortable one. +He moved restlessly about, rolling toward the entrance +as if in quest of fresh air. Ben arose and +stood watching him drunkenly.</p> + +<p>“You’re not so worse,†the fellow cried. “If +I had my way, I’d get out of this mix mighty quick. +I’m a kind-hearted man, kid! The drunker I get, +the kinder I am.â€</p> + +<p>Clay was on the point of suggesting that he +drink the remainder of the liquor in the bottle, so +that he might be kind enough to untie him, but did +not do so for obvious reasons.</p> + +<p>The boy was in hopes that Ben would become +too intoxicated to pay any attention to his movements, +but he did not do so. Instead, he filled a +cob pipe with villainous tobacco and sat down at +the entrance to the cavern within a few feet of +where the boy lay.</p> + +<p>During all this time, the boy was wondering if +Alex had gone back to the <i>Rambler</i> or whether he +had trailed on after the men who had attempted +his capture. In the latter case, the boy was evidently +not very far away. He listened intently for +some indication of the boy’s presence, but none +came. He wondered if the boys on the <i>Rambler</i> +would make an effort to find him before night set in.</p> + +<p>And so, gagged and bound, he spent a long, painful +day. No one came to the cave, and Ben was his +sole guardian. The man became talkative after a +while and discussed the streets of Chicago, which +he seemed to know well, but became silent whenever +an incautious word regarding the present situation +came to his lips.</p> + +<p>When darkness came, Steve and two more burly +ruffians made their appearance. They uncovered +a box at the back of the cavern and, reaching in, +drew out bread and canned fruit and vegetables. +As the four sat feeding like a drove of swine, Ben +observed Clay’s eyes fixed hungrily on the food.</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you give the boy some of the +chuck?†he asked, angrily.</p> + +<p>“Here, kid,†he added, taking the handkerchief +from Clay’s mouth, releasing his hands, and +passing him a loaf of bread and tin of beef, “just +help yourself to this table d’hôte dinner.â€</p> + +<p>Steve and the others snarled out their objections +to this procedure, but Clay was finally left to eat +his scanty supper in peace.</p> + +<p>After the men had finished eating, they arose +and threw their cans and bottles into a shallow +annex to the cave on the south.</p> + +<p>“I’m great for keeping things in order,†grinned +Ben, giving a tin tomato can a particularly vigorous +kick. “I always like to see things kept decent.â€</p> + +<p>The can bounded against the wall, fell to the +floor and rolled down a dark incline, and Clay’s +heart beat into his throat as he heard the splash of +water.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink20'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XX—LIFTING A SUNKEN LAUNCH</a></h2> + +<p>After the departure from the <i>Rambler</i> of Clay +and Alex, Captain Joe began exploring the little +store rooms of the craft in search of cables and +grappling hooks. He soon had quite a collection +laying on the deck.</p> + +<p>“What’s the idea, Captain Joe?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“Well, boys,†the captain replied, “you remember +what the Quebec chief of police said regarding +the <i>Cartier</i> and the perfectly good assortment +of supplies lying at the bottom of the St. Lawrence +river?â€</p> + +<p>“Sure, we remember that,†Case replied.</p> + +<p>“And you remember what Clay said about having +discovered the boat as we came in? Why, he +told us right where it is.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes, he said he saw it on the bottom,†Jule interrupted.</p> + +<p>“Now, I have an idea,†Captain Joe smiled, +winking at the two boys, “that it would be all +right for us to lift the launch while Clay is away. +What do you say to that?â€</p> + +<p>“Great idea!†shouted Case.</p> + +<p>“Then let’s get at it,†Jule suggested.</p> + +<p>“The first thing to do,†Captain Joe said, “is to +find out exactly where the <i>Cartier</i> lies.â€</p> + +<p>“Aw, I know that,†Jule said, “Clay told me +about that. It’s right over there in about fifteen +feet of water just below that submerged bar.â€</p> + +<p>“Fifteen feet with or without the tide?†asked +Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“Fifteen feet with the tide out,†was the reply, +“and the tide is out now, so we’d better be getting +busy.â€</p> + +<p>They swung the <i>Rambler</i> over to the north side +of the bar and anchored. From this new position, +across the white surface of the bottom, they could +see the trunk cabin of the <i>Cartier</i> sitting squarely +up in the water. The boat had evidently dropped +straight down when scuttled, and she now lay on +an almost even keel with her nose pointing upstream.</p> + +<p>“Now, I tell you, boys,†Captain Joe observed, +“one of you must go down and attach a line to her +forward towing bitts. I’d go down myself, understand, +only I’m so big and clumsy that I might +displace too much water in the stream. Who’ll +go?â€</p> + +<p>“I’m the champion diver of the South Branch,†+Jule cried, “and I’ll go down and have that line +fast in about a second.â€</p> + +<p>“It’s a long dive,†warned Captain Joe.</p> + +<p>“I’ve stood on my head in deeper water than +that,†said the boy.</p> + +<p>Case got out the rowboat and Jule was taken +over to the place from which he was to dive. The +end of the cable was passed to him and he dropped +down. In a moment, he came climbing up the +rope like a young monkey, shaking water over Case +as he tumbled into the boat.</p> + +<p>“Now get a-going,†he said, “and we’ll have +this boat out of the mud before Clay and Alex return. +I wonder what we’ll find on board of her.â€</p> + +<p>“You don’t expect to find a lost channel, do +you? Or a casket of family jewels?†asked Case, +with a wink.</p> + +<p>“I was thinking,†Jule replied, “that we might +find something to eat.â€</p> + +<p>The boys rowed back to the <i>Rambler</i>, clambered +on board, and the motor boat was started forward, +one end of the cable attached to her after deck +cleats. She pulled steadily for a moment under +full power, but the launch refused to move. She +was evidently deeply imbedded in the bottom.</p> + +<p>“I reckon we’ll have to go down and push,†Case +grinned.</p> + +<p>“You just wait, boys, and I’ll try it once more,†+Captain Joe said.</p> + +<p>The second attempt was successful, and the +<i>Cartier</i> was drawn slowly, carefully, to the bar. +When she left her original position on the bottom +of the river, she listed to one side and so came in +almost on her beam ends.</p> + +<p>“I guess we’ve spilled some of her crockery,†+Jule laughed as the boat showed one side of her +hull. “Fontenelle may kick on our wearing out +his furniture.â€</p> + +<p>“Oh, he’ll be glad enough to get his boat back,†+Captain Joe remarked. “Now, we’ll see if we +can pump her out.â€</p> + +<p>The launch now lay tipping only slightly on the +bar, her keel having cut into the soft sand, with +her gunwales two or three inches above the surface +of the river. The cabin stood well out of the river, +of course, but the great body of water in the cockpit +and over the cabin floor held her down.</p> + +<p>“Now we’ll see if we can’t pump her out,†Captain +Joe said. “I don’t understand what sent her +to the bottom. She looks to be as fit as a fiddle.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we can tell that when we get the +water out of her,†Case suggested. “There may +be a big hole in her bottom.â€</p> + +<p>The <i>Rambler’s</i> pump was now put in operation, +but the interior of the launch remained full of +water. The river rushed in as fast as the pumps +removed it, so the craft did not rise to the surface.</p> + +<p>“You’ll have to get your feet wet again, Jule,†+Case said. “Just drop over into the cockpit and +see if you can see any hole in the bottom.â€</p> + +<p>Jule did as requested, floundering and splashing +about in the water as though he considered the enterprise +only a bit of fun.</p> + +<p>“Nothing doing here!†he shouted back. +“There’s no hole in the bottom that I can see. +There may be one under the double floor in the +cabin but I don’t believe it.â€</p> + +<p>“Look for the sea-cock,†cried Captain Joe, leaning +over the gunwale of the <i>Rambler</i>. “It may +have been opened. It ought to be right there in +the cockpit close to the wall of the cabin.â€</p> + +<p>Jule felt around in the water for a time, ducked +his head under in order to get closer to the bottom +now and then and finally raised his dripping face +with a shout.</p> + +<p>“I’ve found it!†he cried. “The sea-cock was +wide open and that’s what sunk the launch.â€</p> + +<p>“Wonder Fontenelle wouldn’t have investigated,†+said Case.</p> + +<p>“The launch was probably sunk in the night,†+Captain Joe suggested, “when the members of the +party were away. When they returned to the boat, +of course, they had no grappling apparatus or anything +to help raise her, and so they just went away +and left her in the mud.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s probably it,†Case said, turning on the +pump.</p> + +<p>“Hold on,†Jule cried. “You wait till I get +something to plug this sea-cock with. I can’t turn +the valve. It’s rusty.â€</p> + +<p>The boy was given a basket of waste which had +been used in cleaning the motors, and in a short +time the sea-cock was securely plugged.</p> + +<p>Then the pumps were set in motion again and in +a very short time the <i>Cartier</i> was virtually free of +water.</p> + +<p>“That’s a mighty handsome boat,†Captain Joe +observed as the launch lay on the surface. “If I +had her down on the South Branch, I could have +the time of my life every day in the week.â€</p> + +<p>The boys worked over the boat for some time +drying off the woodwork and fixing the valve of +the sea-cock so it would close.</p> + +<p>“Of course, she won’t run now,†Captain Joe +explained, “because the batteries and the magneto +are soaked with water. We can transfer new apparatus +from the <i>Rambler</i> and, as she has plenty +of gasoline, she will go like a duck on a mill-pond.â€</p> + +<p>“I guess Clay will think we have been going +some to get that boat off the bottom,†laughed Case.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe looked at his watch, his face clouding +as he did so.</p> + +<p>“Why, look here,†he said. “We’ve been a +long time on this job. It is after one o’clock.â€</p> + +<p>“We might have known that by the tide coming +in,†Case said.</p> + +<p>“I wasn’t thinking about the water,†the captain +laughed. “I was thinking about Clay and +Alex. Now, where do you suppose those two +scamps are? They ought to have been here long +ago.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps they’ve found the lost channel!†Jule +put in.</p> + +<p>“It is more likely they found a nest of outlaws +they couldn’t get away from,†was Case’s idea of +the situation. “I think we ought to do something +about it right now,†he added.</p> + +<p>“I am afraid,†Captain Joe said, poking a stubby +finger into Case’s side, “that it takes you boys +about half your time to find each other when you +go off on these river trips. First one gets lost and +then the other.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s all right,†Case replied, “but every +time a fellow gets lost he butts into valuable information. +Clay may pick up those Fontenelle +diamonds while he’s gone, or find the lost charter.â€</p> + +<p>“It’s up to us to do something,†Jule insisted. +“After dinner, we’ll go out on the peninsula and +see what we can discover if Captain Joe will remain +on the boat. We won’t be gone long.â€</p> + +<p>Dinner was hastily prepared and hastily eaten, +and then Case and Jule rowed to the shore in the +<i>Rambler’s</i> boat, the canoe having been left on the +bank by Clay. The captain saw them disappear in +the thicket and then sat down in the cabin to watch +and wait.</p> + +<p>In less than half an hour, he heard shouts on the +shore, and then two figures came plunging down +the high bank into the river some distance above +the location of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>The captain reached for his gun and stood waiting, +fearful at first that a bold attempt to board the +<i>Rambler</i> was being made, but as the two figures in +the water came closer, he saw Case and Jule alternately +swimming on the surface and diving. The +reason for this apparently strange conduct on the +part of the boys was soon discovered, for bullets +began whistling about their heads and about the +deck of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> + +<p>However, the swimmers reached the deck of the +boat unharmed and dropped down behind the gunwales.</p> + +<p>“Use your gun, Captain Joe!†Case panted. +“Alex is back there in the woods trying to get to +the river.â€</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink21'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XXI—DOWN IN THE WHIRLPOOL</a></h2> + +<p>When Clay heard the splash of water as the tin +can disappeared from sight, he began wondering if +what he had heard had reached the ears of the +others. The lost channel was always in his mind, +and he was wondering if the presence of a subterranean +body of water there could have any connection +with the channel which had disappeared as if +by magic two or three hundred years before.</p> + +<p>In order to settle the question as to what the +outlaws knew concerning the water which must lie +directly under their cave, he asked:</p> + +<p>“Will some of you men give me a drink of +water?â€</p> + +<p>“Aw, go take a drink out of the river,†was the +reply he received.</p> + +<p>“Gladly!†cried Clay. “Just untie my feet and +I’ll show you how quickly I can get to the river.â€</p> + +<p>The men laughed heartily at what they considered +a good joke and continued their preparations +for leaving the cavern. In a short time the +man believed by Clay to be Lawyer Martin made +his appearance, and then the party started up the +gully turning to the east and walking over the +roughest territory Clay had yet seen in that vicinity. +The leader of the party paused now and +then to inspect the landscape and to listen for +sounds from the west river.</p> + +<p>“What were your friends doing this afternoon,†+he asked presently. “They have dug up a new +boat somewhere.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t know,†replied Clay, stumbling over +the ground with two husky guards close to his +sides. “Was it my friends who were doing the +shooting?†he added.</p> + +<p>“Shooting?†the leader repeated in apparent +amazement. “Did you hear any shooting? Which +way did it come from?â€</p> + +<p>“From the west,†was the brief reply.</p> + +<p>Clay’s escorts glanced at each other significantly, +but said nothing. The boy was satisfied from the +attitude of those about him that his chums had been +attacked, but, as a matter of fact, he had heard no +shooting, being at the time it took place in the +cavern opening from the gully.</p> + +<p>After what seemed to Clay to be an endless journey, +the party came to the west shore of the east +river. Here, in the glade to the north of the rocky +ledge which they had followed, was a fairly +comfortable camp with tents and bunks and plenty of +cooking appurtenances.</p> + +<p>Clay was pushed into a tent and his hands and +feet bound again.</p> + +<p>“We can’t take any chances on your jumping us +in the night,†the leader said as he saw the ropes +adjusted around the boy’s ankles and wrists. “If +you only had a little sense, we might make you +more comfortable.â€</p> + +<p>Time and again Clay had the name of Lawyer +Martin on his lips. He was almost positive that +the leader of the outlaws was the disguised man he +had met in Montreal, the man of whom the farmer +had spoken at the campfire. However, he conquered +the inclination to address the fellow by the +title which he believed to belong to him.</p> + +<p>“If he really is Lawyer Martin,†the boy reasoned, +“and I let him know that I know the truth, +he’ll take good care that I never get out into the +world again to tell of his connection with these +outlaws.â€</p> + +<p>That night was a long one for the boy. One of +the outlaws walked watchfully about the camp all +night and another sat close by his bunk watching +with unwearying eyes. It was plain that they considered +his capture of great importance. He reasoned +that it was because they had failed in any +attack that might have been made on his chums, +and had not succeeded in securing the map they +sought.</p> + +<p>He did not know whether Alex had escaped the +clutches of the ruffians or not, but he believed that +if the boy really had been taken prisoner he would +have been brought to the camp he himself occupied.</p> + +<p>The camp was astir at daybreak, when most of +the outlaws disappeared from view, going in every +direction except across the river. Clay would have +given a good deal for exact information regarding +their plans for the day, but he could only surmise +that all their energies would be directed toward the +destruction of the <i>Rambler</i> and the driving away +of his chums.</p> + +<p>While he lay pondering over the possibilities of +the day, the leader of the party came to his side.</p> + +<p>“How do you feel this morning, my boy?†he +asked lightly.</p> + +<p>“I feel like I’d like to stretch my legs a little,†+was the reply.</p> + +<p>“If I gave you the privilege,†asked the other, +“will you promise to make no attempt to escape?â€</p> + +<p>“I’m not making any promises,†Clay replied, +“so I suppose I’ll have to remain where I am.â€</p> + +<p>“But you can’t get away,†the leader insisted.</p> + +<p>“How do you know I can’t get away?†replied +Clay, laughing up into the man’s face.</p> + +<p>“Because we’ve got you tied hard and fast,†was +the reply.</p> + +<p>“I’ve read in the papers,†the leader went on, +“about this Captain Joe bulldog of yours and this +Teddy bear cub doing wonderful things in the way +of helping you boys out of trouble, but they are up +against the impossible here.â€</p> + +<p>“I’m sorry,†Clay said with a shrug of the +shoulders, “but you know just as well as I do that +no game is ever played out as it should be until the +last card is on the table.â€</p> + +<p>The leader smiled whimsically and turned away. +After talking for some moments with the only man +present in the camp, he turned to the west and disappeared. +Then the man he had last talked with +approached the boy.</p> + +<p>“What do you want for breakfast?†he asked.</p> + +<p>“Pie!†roared Clay. “Green apple pie, red +apple pie, dried apple pie, and pie pie. And if +you’ve got any chicken pie, that will come in all +right later on.â€</p> + +<p>“Your troubles don’t seem to affect your appetite, +kid,†laughed the man whom Clay discovered +to be the cook of the camp. “You’re a jolly kind +of a fellow, anyway, and I’m going to give you the +best there is in the larder.â€</p> + +<p>In half an hour a really good breakfast of ham +and eggs, potatoes, bread and butter, and coffee +was served to the boy. He ate heartily, of course, +as most boys will under any circumstances, talking +with the cook as the meal proceeded.</p> + +<p>Directly the leader came to the edge of the little +glade and beckoned to the cook. The latter looked +from his employer to the boy and back again. The +leader beckoned imperatively, and the cook left the +tent and approached him. Together they stepped +away into the edge of the thicket and engaged in +an animated conversation.</p> + +<p>Clay heard the leader ask if the ropes which held +his hands and feet were still in place, and heard the +cook reply that he supposed they were as he had not +examined them.</p> + +<p>“Just for the fun of the thing, now,†Clay +mused, “I’ll find out whether that chap is right.â€</p> + +<p>He pulled away at the cords on his wrist, but +for a long time was unable to move them beyond +the limit of the motion which had enabled him to +use a fork at his breakfast.</p> + +<p>“I wonder,†he thought, “why they didn’t give +me a knife to eat that ham with. Never mind, I +can make a knife of my own.â€</p> + +<p>He set his elbow against an earthen plate which +lay on the ground, breaking it into several pieces. +The largest fragment, he got into his mouth and +began to saw his wrist ropes against it. The +strands of the rope soon gave way and the boy’s +hands were free. It took him but a moment to +untie the cords which held his ankles.</p> + +<p>Thus released, he listened for a moment to make +sure that the two men in the edge of the thicket +were not observing him. All was still in that direction +and he finally ventured to the opening of the +tent and looked out. The two men were nowhere +in sight.</p> + +<p>“Now or never,†thought the boy. “While +those fellows are cooking up some scheme for the +destruction of the <i>Rambler</i>, I’ll make a quiet sneak. +The peninsula must be crowded with outlaws, all +in search of a lost channel, and so I’ll have to take +to the river.â€</p> + +<p>The boy was out of the glade in an instant, +crouching low, of course, but making good time +until he reached the margin of the river. Hoping +to see a boat, he paused there a moment and looked +about. As he did so, the roar of the falls which +had obstructed the progress of the <i>Rambler</i> on her +first trip to that vicinity, reached his ears and he +knew that a boat would be practically useless, as +it would never live through the falling water. The +only thing for him to do, seemed to be to take to +the water and keep as much out of sight as possible +under the bank.</p> + +<p>He sprang in and struck out down stream wondering +if he could pass the falls without returning +to the shore. After swimming a few strokes, he +heard a shout from the bank and saw the leader +and the cook hastening toward the river. The current +was strong there just above the falls and the +boy was an excellent swimmer, so the men did not +decrease the distance between themselves and their +quarry.</p> + +<p>“If you don’t stop, we’ll shoot!†the cook cried.</p> + +<p>“And shoot to kill!†came the voice of the +leader.</p> + +<p>For a moment Clay swam on blindly under a +rain of bullets but he had no idea whatever of voluntarily +returning to the shore. The leaden pellets +splashed into the water all about him for a +time but presently as the men got better range, +they began making closer acquaintance.</p> + +<p>The roar of the falls was now almost deafening. +The boy could hear a torrent of water pouring +down upon broken rocks. He knew now that it +would be impossible for him to negotiate the falls +by way of the river. He must swim to the shore +and pass around the danger point. This would +subject him to the direct fire of his pursuers.</p> + +<p>At last, almost hopeless, he dived into the water +to escape the rain of bullets. To his surprise, he +did not come to the surface again when he used his +strength in that direction.</p> + +<p>Either his body had lost its buoyancy or the +water was pulling him down. He seemed to be in a +whirlpool. The force of the water drew at his +arms and his legs and clutched him about the chest. +Around and around he whirled, until he grew dizzy +with the motion and his lungs seemed bursting for +want of air.</p> + +<p>Then, almost unconscious, he knew that he was +being drawn through an opening into which the +water poured with awful force. He knew that he +was being tossed to and fro in something like a +basin or pool a moment later, and felt the fresh air +creeping into his lungs.</p> + +<p>The water where he lay did not seem to be more +than three or four feet deep but the current was +swift and steady. There was no light anywhere. +The boy groped forward with his hands outstretched +until he came to what seemed to be a +ledge of rock. There, exhausted and almost unconscious +from his exertions, he dropped down and +his mind became a blank.</p> + +<p>When he returned to consciousness, a single +shaft of light penetrating the darkness of the place +showed him to be in a cavern the dimensions of +which he had no means of knowing. The ledge +upon which he had fallen lay a yard or so above the +surface of an underground stream. He could see +the light glancing on the water and hear the roar +of the whirlpool which had brought him into this +subterranean place.</p> + +<p>“I’ve found the lost channel, I guess,†he +thought bitterly, “and I guess there’ll be two of us +lost—a lost river and a lost boy.â€</p> + +<p>After a time, he felt his way along the ledge only +to find that it came to an abrupt termination against +a shoulder of rock.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink22'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XXII—WHAT THE EDDY BROUGHT UP</a></h2> + +<p>When Case and Jule gained the deck of the +<i>Rambler</i>, crying that Alex was back in the forest +pursued by the outlaws, Captain Joe laid out a +choice assortment of automatic revolvers along the +deck behind the starboard gunwale. The dripping +boys crouched down and waited.</p> + +<p>“He wasn’t very far behind us,†Case said directly.</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Jule put in. “He ought to be here before +long.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe, watching the boys whimsically, +pushed the revolvers around so they would be +within easy reach. The deck looked like an +armory.</p> + +<p>“You outrun him, did you, lads?†the old captain +asked.</p> + +<p>“We wanted to stay back and come in with +him,†Case explained, “but he wouldn’t have it. +He said that if we separated and ran in different +directions, one party would be pretty sure to get in, +while we might all be captured if we stuck together. +He was right, of course, but we hated to leave him. +He ought to be here in a minute or two.â€</p> + +<p>“Did he say where Clay was?†asked Captain +Joe.</p> + +<p>“We didn’t have much chance to talk with him,†+Case answered. “The outlaws were swarming +over the peninsula, and kept us ducking and dodging +most of the time. There must be a dozen or +more toughs in there.â€</p> + +<p>There was no more firing from the shore for a +time, and those on board the <i>Rambler</i> hoped that +Alex had succeeded in eluding his pursuers.</p> + +<p>Presently the bushes at the margin of the stream +parted and a face looked out—a heavy bearded +face with fierce eyes.</p> + +<p>“Good evening, pard!†Jule called out. “Come +aboard!â€</p> + +<p>The fellow disappeared without making any +reply.</p> + +<p>“That settles it!†Case exclaimed. “We +won’t see Alex right away. The outlaws haven’t +caught him, and so they are watching along the +shore in the hopes of picking him up when he leaves +the thicket. I’d like to throw a stick of dynamite +in there and blow up the whole outfit.â€</p> + +<p>The supposition that Alex would not be seen at +that time proved to be incorrect, however, for a +shout was now heard from the launch, and Alex +was seen waving a cap from the cockpit.</p> + +<p>The cap soon disappeared from sight, however, +for bullets began dropping down from the shore. +On the <i>Rambler</i>, the boys were behind the heavy +gunwales, and Alex was hidden by the cockpit +walls so, beyond splintering the railings and making +havoc in the finely-decorated cabin of the +launch, the bullets did no damage.</p> + +<p>“Now, how do you think that little customer +got out to the launch without getting perforated?†+asked Case.</p> + +<p>“He swam out, of course,†replied Jule, “—he +just ducked under and swam out. I wish we +could get him on board the <i>Rambler</i>.â€</p> + +<p>“Now, that tow-line,†Case said, “is too long. +The boy can’t swim under water all that distance. +Can’t we pull the launch up?â€</p> + +<p>“Nothing in the world to prevent it,†said Captain +Joe. “If we can get the end of the line into +the cabin, the launch will come up like a duck. +Then Alex can come aboard without much +danger.â€</p> + +<p>This plan was adopted. The <i>Cartier</i> was easily +drawn up to the stern of the <i>Rambler</i> and Alex +stepped aboard.</p> + +<p>In a moment he was lying behind the gunwale +with the others.</p> + +<p>“Where did you say Clay was?†asked Captain +Joe.</p> + +<p>“I haven’t seen him for a long time,†was the +reply. “We saw that wharf rat, Max, in the +forest and I started away to follow him. At that +time Clay was coming toward the boat. I thought +he might be here.â€</p> + +<p>“And so Max has shown up again, has he?†+cried Case. “We’ll have to land that boy where +he won’t be so active.â€</p> + +<p>While the boys were discussing the situation a +grating, flopping sound was heard in the cabin, and +Jule rushed in just in time to see the cable which +had held the <i>Cartier</i> to the <i>Rambler</i> drawing +through the open window. In the excitement of +getting Alex on board, the boys had neglected to +secure the line and the launch was now dropping +down stream.</p> + +<p>Jule sprang for the end of the line, but did not +reach it. It dropped down to the after deck and +was drawn into the water.</p> + +<p>“That’s a nice thing!†shouted the boy, rushing +to the motors. “Now we’ve got to go down and +catch that boat!â€</p> + +<p>It was some moments before the anchor could be +lifted and the <i>Rambler</i> turned and sent down +stream, so the <i>Cartier</i> was halfway to the little bay +running in behind the Peninsula before the boys +caught up with her.</p> + +<p>“She won’t get away again,†Captain Joe declared +shortening up the line and making it fast to +the after deck cleats of the motor boat. “We +haven’t got any time to go chasing runaway +launches!â€</p> + +<p>As the old captain spoke, Case laid a hand on +his arm and pointed to the projection on the peninsula +behind which Captain Joe had listened on the +night he had left the <i>Rambler</i> during his watch.</p> + +<p>“There’s a blaze over there,†the boy said. +“They must have a lot of men here to keep a force +over there and another one between the two rivers.â€</p> + +<p>“Young man,†Captain Joe replied, “the man +who is responsible for this whole mix-up is over +there on the point, with a band of cutthroats.â€</p> + +<p>“Why don’t they go up and help the others?†+asked Jule.</p> + +<p>“It’s just this way,†Captain Joe replied, “we +disappointed them very much when we got the +<i>Cartier</i> out of the water. That rascal on the point +wanted to have the pleasure of raising the boat +himself.â€</p> + +<p>“Then why didn’t he do it?†asked Alex. “He +had time enough before we got here.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t know why he didn’t,†answered the +captain, “but he didn’t, and now he’s sore because +we got to it first. It seems to me that he +might have ordered his wrecking apparatus here +and got the boat out before we arrived.â€</p> + +<p>“What do you think he wants of the launch?†+Case asked. “According to all accounts, he’s rich +enough to buy a dozen.â€</p> + +<p>“I can tell you about that,†Captain Joe replied +with a grin. “You remember when I stood watch +one night, and you all said I looked sleepy the next +day. Well, that night, I paddled over to the point +and heard what those people were talking about. +There is something on board the <i>Cartier</i> they +want. I couldn’t understand exactly what they +said about it, but it is something in some way connected +with a safe.â€</p> + +<p>“The safe on the wall in the lost channel!†+laughed Alex. “They think Fontenelle knows +how to get to the safe if he can only get to the +lost channel first.â€</p> + +<p>“Well, we got to the launch first, anyway,†Jule +suggested. “And it strikes me that we’d better go +aboard and look her over. Did you see anything +remarkable when you were there, Alex?†he added.</p> + +<p>“Didn’t see a thing,†was the reply. “I flopped +out of the water into the cockpit and never even +looked inside the cabin. I wish now that I had.â€</p> + +<p>“Come on, then, let’s you and I take a look +through the cabin while Captain Joe and Case run +the <i>Rambler</i> back to her old position,†Jule suggested.</p> + +<p>The two boys sprang down into the cockpit, +paused a moment to get their balance and opened +the cabin door. As they did so, a scrambling noise +was heard inside, and both were knocked nearly off +their feet as a body launched against them, turned +to the railing and shot over into the river.</p> + +<p>From his position on the deck where he had been +thrown by the impact of the collision, Alex looked +up at Jule with a whimsical smile on his face.</p> + +<p>“Did you see that?†he asked.</p> + +<p>“I felt it,†Jule replied, rubbing his head.</p> + +<p>“What did it feel like?†asked Alex</p> + +<p>“Like a battering ram,†was the reply.</p> + +<p>“Well,†Alex said, “it might have been a battering +ram, but it looked to me like Max, and it’s +dollars to apples that he caused the <i>Cartier</i> to start +downstream. A few pulls from the water would +have started the line running out.â€</p> + +<p>“That’s just it!†Jule exclaimed. “That’s exactly +the idea!â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe now leaned over the gunwale of the +<i>Rambler</i> and cried out:</p> + +<p>“Which one of you boys fell overboard?â€</p> + +<p>“That was Max,†Alex replied. “He’s been +here in the cabin of the launch for nobody knows +how long, ransacking the lockers and destroying +papers. He must have come aboard about as soon +as it was lifted out of the water. The scamp certainly +keeps busy, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>Captain Joe passed over to the launch, and a +long search was made through the owner’s +secretary and the drawers and boxes containing documents. +The papers were wet, of course, and many +of them were badly torn, but the purport of each +was by no means doubtful. The great mass consisted +of bills, newspaper clippings, personal letters +and the hundred and one memoranda made by the +captain and owner of a pleasure launch.</p> + +<p>“I guess we’ll have to give it up,†the captain +said, after a time. “There’s one good thing about +it, and that is that Max didn’t meet with any more +success than we did.â€</p> + +<p>“How do you know?†asked Case.</p> + +<p>“Because,†answered the Captain, “he would +have been off the boat before we ever got to it.â€</p> + +<p>“Perhaps he wasn’t here as long as you think he +was,†Alex put in. “Clay and I saw him up in +the woods when we first went ashore.â€</p> + +<p>The papers were spread out neatly and left to +dry, and everything in the drenched cabin placed +in as good shape as possible. Then the boys all +returned to the <i>Rambler</i>, now nearing her old position +in the west river.</p> + +<p>Much to the surprise of all on board, there were +no signs of the outlaws when the boat came to her +old anchorage. Night was falling and there were +no indications of hostile influences anywhere. Before +darkness settled down over the scene, the boys +drew the <i>Rambler</i> a little farther up the stream +and prepared to pass a watchful and anxious night.</p> + +<p>Alex proposed that he go ashore with the bulldog +and make an effort to find Clay, but the proposition +was instantly vetoed by the others.</p> + +<p>“You’ll get lost yourself,†Case declared, “and +we’d have two boys to look up instead of one. I +think we’d better all stay on the boat.â€</p> + +<p>“And that’s good sense, too,†Captain Joe put +in. “Clay knows where we are, and he’ll come to +us if he can get away. If he doesn’t come during +the night, we’ll get out after him in the morning.â€</p> + +<p>“He may be waiting for darkness,†Case suggested. +“In that case, he ought to be here soon. +He must be hungry.â€</p> + +<p>“He surely will, and we’ll keep supper waiting +for him in this cabin all night,†said Alex “When +the outlaws had me pinched, they didn’t give me +anything to eat. I’ll get even for that!â€</p> + +<p>The night passed slowly, drearily, and Clay did +not come. As the reader understands, all through +the dark hours, the boy lay bound in a tent not far +from the west shore of the east river.</p> + +<p>Shortly after daylight, breakfast being over, the +boys began planning for a visit to the shore.</p> + +<p>The canoe and the rowboat were both on the +bank still in plain sight.</p> + +<p>“You swim over and get the boats, Jule,†Case +said. “You haven’t had as many open air baths as +we have since we started on this trip.â€</p> + +<p>“Now, boys,†interposed Captain Joe, “I +wouldn’t touch those boats if I were you. If there +are any outlaws in those woods at all, they’re +watching those boats. The first boy that swims +up to one of them will be captured.â€</p> + +<p>“Then we’ve all got to swim,†declared Case +ruefully.</p> + +<p>“We’re getting used to it this time,†cried Alex</p> + +<p>“I don’t believe there’s any one over there,†Jule +said. “They wouldn’t keep still so long.â€</p> + +<p>“I notice that you don’t get your head up above +the gunwale very often,†Alex laughed.</p> + +<p>“Look here, boys,†Captain Joe said, pointing +out of the cabin window. “Here’s a place where +the river widens without any good excuse for doing +so. I talked to Clay about that, and his idea +was that an underground stream runs in in this +vicinity. Now, your eyes are better than mine. +Look upstream and see if you can observe any current +which might be made by the flowing in of a +subterranean river.â€</p> + +<p>“You’re all right, Captain Joe,†Case exclaimed. +“You can’t forget that lost channel any more than +we can.â€</p> + +<p>“I don’t know whether there’s a lost channel or +not,†the captain replied, “but I do know that +there’s a fresh supply of water coming into this +stream right about here.â€</p> + +<p>Case took a field glass and looked up the stream.</p> + +<p>“There surely is a current starting in close to +that bank,†he finally said. “I can see sticks and +bubbles popping up from the bottom. There’s a +spring there, all right.â€</p> + +<p>Alex took the glass and studied the river for a +long time. Then he seized Captain Joe by the +shoulder and pointed.</p> + +<p>“Say,†he said, “there’s a nude body coming up +out of that eddy Case saw. You can see it under +the water, drifting down this way.â€</p> + +<p>The boy dropped the glass clattering on the deck +and sprang into the water.</p> + +<p>“Here, here, boy! Come back!†cried Captain +Joe.</p> + +<p>“It’s Clay!†shouted Jule. “Can’t you see it’s +Clay!â€</p> + +<p>In a moment, Jule was in the water, too, and +both boys were diving after the figure they had +seen in the eddy.</p> + +<p>They caught it in a moment, and managed to +get it to the boat. Captain Joe and Case supplied +ropes, and in an incredibly short space of time, +Clay lay stretched out on the deck.</p> + +<p>“He’s dead!†cried Alex “I just know he’s +dead!â€</p> + +<p>“They stripped him of his clothes and threw +him in!†wailed Jule.</p> + +<h2 class='chapter' id='clink23'><a href='#toc'>CHAPTER XXIII—THE LOST CHARTER IS FOUND</a></h2> + +<p>An instant after being laid on the deck, however, +Clay opened his eyes and smiled up into the +faces of his friends.</p> + +<p>“He’ll be saying, ‘Where am I?’ in a minute!†+Alex cried, dancing joyfully about the prostrate +figure. “That is the usual thing in stories, you +know. He’ll have to say, ‘Where am I?’ and I’ll +have to tell him that he mustn’t talk. Look at him +grin.â€</p> + +<p>“What gets me,†Captain Joe said, lifting the +boy into a sitting position, “is how you came up +from the bottom of the river without ever diving +down to it. It looks uncanny.â€</p> + +<p>“The lost channel!†answered Clay weakly.</p> + +<p>“You found it, did you?†asked Alex.</p> + +<p>“Boys, boys,†said Captain Joe, “never mind +the lost channel until we get this boy dressed and +fed up.â€</p> + +<p>The processes suggested by the captain were +quickly accomplished, and in a short time, Clay +sat in the cabin telling of the adventures of the +morning. The boys listened wide-eyed.</p> + +<p>“Now let me get this thing right,†Captain Joe +said. “You went into a whirlpool above the falls +and came out into a cavern?â€</p> + +<p>“That’s just it, exactly,†Clay replied, still weak +from his exertions. “I landed on a ledge, where +I lay unconscious for a few moments and then +followed down the channel of the underground +river. There is plenty of room in the cavern,†he +continued, “and plenty of fresh air, but the place +is shy on light. I fell many times in the darkness.â€</p> + +<p>“I thought it wasn’t safe for me to be in there!†+grinned Alex.</p> + +<p>“I thought it wasn’t safe for me be in there!†+Clay replied with a wink, “and so I made my way +out as swiftly as I could. At this end of the channel, +the water runs out just below the surface of +the west river, and I thought I’d better reduce my +weight as much as possible before going through +the opening, so I took off my clothes and was +pushed out by the current.â€</p> + +<p>“Looked mighty funny to see you come floating +out of the river without ever having gone in!†+laughed Jule.</p> + +<p>“Now, boys,†said Captain Joe, after the boys +had discussed all phases of the situation, “let’s +size this thing up together. In the first place, Clay +has undoubtedly discovered the lost channel.â€</p> + +<p>“It might have been found years ago,†Clay +said, “if the men who tried to describe it had only +said that it was a subterranean stream.â€</p> + +<p>“And now, the question is,†went on the captain, +“whether the charter and the family jewels +are anywhere in the cavern through which the lost +stream runs.â€</p> + +<p>“It seemed to me,†Clay broke in, “that the +cavern was big enough to hold a small sized city. +It is just the kind of a place where one would +naturally hide valuables.â€</p> + +<p>“It seems to me,†Alex complained, “that the +hardest part of our job is still to come, even if we +have discovered the lost channel. We can’t go up +there and dive through the whirlpool, as Clay did, +because the outlaws would perforate us before we +got anywhere near the falls.â€</p> + +<p>“I’ve been thinking of that,†Clay said, “and I +believe there is a way to get into the cavern without +getting wet. When I lay in the cavern, high +up on the ridge, before being taken to the shore, +the men with me emptied several tin cans of food +and pitched them into a corner of the cavern. One +of the cans was sent along with a kick, and I heard +a splash of water when it fell.â€</p> + +<p>“Je-rusalem!†cried Alex. “Show me where +that cavern is, and I’ll take a rope and go through +the opening where the can fell!â€</p> + +<p>“What would these fellows on shore be doing +all the time you were reaching the cavern?†asked +Case.</p> + +<p>“I am certain,†Clay went on, “that there is an +opening from the floor of the cavern to the chamber +in which the lost river runs, for when I came +down, I saw a blur of light about halfway through +the journey.â€</p> + +<p>“That settles that part of it, then,†Captain Joe +said. “We’ll have to wait for a suitable opportunity +and get into the chamber by way of the +cave. And now,†he continued, “I propose that +we move out to the bay or the St. Lawrence, where +we won’t be under the guns of the enemy, and cook +several square meals. Honest, boys,†he went on, +“I’ve been so worried lately, that I’ve almost lost +my appetite.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes,†Case laughed, “I notice you consumed +only half a dozen of those Bismark pancakes for +breakfast.â€</p> + +<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was dropped down to the bay with +the launch still by her side, and, once out of rifle +shot, the boys enjoyed the freedom of the deck.</p> + +<p>“Now, we’ll stay here until night,†Captain Joe +said, “and then we’ll see what we can do towards +finding that cavern and dropping down into the +lost channel. We ought to explore it in one night +with the help of our searchlights.â€</p> + +<p>The plan mapped out by the captain was successfully +carried out. Leaving Jule on board the +<i>Rambler</i>, the other members of the party crept cautiously +ashore that night, and were led directly to +the cavern by Clay. They were not disturbed during +the journey. Off to the east, they saw the reflection +of a campfire and the sound of many voices +showed the boys that the outlaws were not at all +anxious to conceal their presence.</p> + +<p>The opening leading from the cavern to the +channel of the stream was large enough for even +Captain Joe to pass through with comfort. Directly +under the opening was a ledge of rock and +here the boys landed. Almost at the point of entry +they saw marks on the wall which indicated that +at some distant time an inscription had been carved +there.</p> + +<p>“We can’t read the words,†Clay said, flashing +his searchlight over the wall, “but at least it tells +us that this is somewhere near the scene of the old-time +operations.â€</p> + +<p>Alex, who had been poking about around an +angle of rock, now gave a great shout of delight +which called the boys to his side.</p> + +<p>“There’s your old safe!†he cried, pointing up +to a niche in the wall, “and it’s dollars to doughnuts +that the lost charter and the jewels are inside +of it!â€</p> + +<p>It was the work of only a few moments to bring +the safe down from the ledge of rock to where the +boys stood. It was merely a box of steel, not more +than a foot in diameter each way, and was evidently +constructed with thin walls for its weight was not +great. However, it was tightly closed and the boys +could see no means by which it might be opened. +There was not even a keyhole or a button.</p> + +<p>“We’ll take it back to the <i>Rambler</i>,†Captain +Joe said. “Perhaps we can find a way to open it +there.â€</p> + +<p>“We’ll find a way to open it,†Alex exclaimed, +“when we get hold of the document Max was +looking for in the cabin of the <i>Cartier</i>.â€</p> + +<p>“Good idea!†Captain Joe replied. “If you +wait long enough, you’ll always find something like +intelligence in the head of a boy!â€</p> + +<p>When the party returned to the cabin, daylight +was just showing in the east and the noisy revel of +those at the campfire had ceased.</p> + +<p>“I tell you what it is,†Captain Joe exclaimed, +“those fellows have given up chasing us for the +reason that they have arrived at the conclusion that +we don’t know any more about the lost channel +than they do. At first, they doubtless thought the +map might direct us to it, but now they have given +up that idea, and are satisfied to let us hunt for +the lost charter if we want to.â€</p> + +<p>“Yes, but they are still watching us, all the +same,†Clay replied, “expecting to take the proceeds +of the discovery away from us if we are lucky +enough to find what both parties are seeking for.â€</p> + +<p>This explanation of Captain Joe’s seemed to be +the correct one, for the boys were not molested +while on their way to the <i>Rambler</i> with the steel +box. Having secured the box, the question now +was how to get it open, so nearly all that day, they +searched among the papers in the cabin of the +<i>Cartier</i> for some clue to the mystery. Before +night it was found in a bundle of old papers stowed +away in a secret draw at the bottom of the owner’s +secretary, where it had lain for a long time.</p> + +<p>“This is easy,†Clay said holding the paper up +between his thumb and fingers. “The box is only +an old French puzzle box. Press on the upper right +hand front corner and a button will show. Press +the button and the box will open, and there you +are.â€</p> + +<p>“What the dickens do you think the Fontenelles +left this paper laying around in a place like this +for?†asked Case. “Do you suppose they knew +what it was?â€</p> + +<p>“Of course they knew,†Clay answered, “and +the paper was brought along so that the box might +be opened as soon as found.â€</p> + +<p>Although the hinges and lock of the steel box +were rusted, it was opened with little difficulty and +there were the family jewels and the lost charter! +In spite of difficulties, the boys had succeeded in +their quest. The search of more than three hundred +years was ended!</p> + +<p>When the <i>Rambler</i> and the <i>Cartier</i> started away +toward Quebec, they left the men who had opposed +them still on the peninsula. Reaching the city, they +lost no time in communicating the result of their +expedition to the Fontenelles. It is needless to say +that the latter were overjoyed at the recovery of +the charter and the jewels.</p> + +<p>At the close of the interview between the elder +Fontenelle and Clay, the former wrote a check for +ten thousand dollars and passed it over to the boy. +Clay smiled as he passed it back.</p> + +<p>“You remember,†he said, “that we recovered +the <i>Cartier</i>, and that we searched her papers pretty +thoroughly to discover the secret of the steel box. +Well, Captain Joe, our old friend from Chicago, +has conceived a great liking for the boat, and if +you can induce your son to give us the launch, and +also to make no trouble for the poor people who +will suffer under this charter, we shall consider +ourselves amply repaid for all our trouble. It has +been a pleasant excursion, anyway.â€</p> + +<p>“So far as the boat is concerned,†the old man +Fontenelle replied, “you are entitled to it as salvage. +Besides, now that the charter and the jewels +have been discovered, through your agency, the +<i>Cartier</i> will no longer be elaborate enough for my +son. He will have a handsome yacht built, anyway, +so you may as well take the launch. So far +as making trouble for those who have occupied our +lands for years goes, no one shall suffer except +those who combined their wealth to obstruct us.</p> + +<p>“And so you see,†he continued, “that the check +is yours after all.â€</p> + +<p>And the old gentleman would not accept “No.†+for an answer.</p> + +<p>“One thing I should like to know,†Clay said, +before leaving Mr. Fontenelle, “and that concerns +the mysterious map we received and the manner in +which it came into our possession.â€</p> + +<p>“I can set you right on that point,†the old man +said. “The man who gave you the map and who +was drowned that same night was long in our +employ. He finally became angry at some fancied +slight and disappeared taking with him valuable +papers. It is believed that the crude map delivered +to you was among the papers he took. At any rate, +on the day before you saw him, he expressed to a +relative remorse at what he had done and promised +to restore the papers. How he came to deliver the +map to you, knowing the <i>Cartier</i> as well as he did, +is something which will never be known.â€</p> + +<p>The boys left Quebec the next morning without +waiting for the return of the men who were still +looking for the lost channel on Cartier island. +Therefore they never saw either Lawyer Martin or +Max again, but they read later in the news dispatches +of Max being sentenced to the penitentiary +for highway robbery.</p> + +<p>The boys went over the old ground on the river +again to Ogdensburg, where the <i>Cartier</i> was fully +equipped with new electrical apparatus and then +the two started away on their long journey up the +lakes.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe, was, of course, overjoyed at becoming +the owner of the launch, which is now one +of the show vessels on the South Branch.</p> + +<p>Captain Joe, the bulldog, and Teddy when in +Chicago alternate between the <i>Rambler</i> and the +<i>Cartier</i>, having a welcome on either boat.</p> + +<p>The boys were not content to remain long on +the South Branch. In fact, within a few days, they +fitted the <i>Rambler</i> out for a trip down the Ohio +river. What occurred during this trip will be related +in the next volume of this series entitled: +The Six River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio; or, +the Three Blue Lights.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + +***** This file should be named 38450-h.htm or 38450-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/5/38450/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/38450-h/images/illus-001.jpg b/38450-h/images/illus-001.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2f514d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/38450-h/images/illus-001.jpg diff --git a/38450.txt b/38450.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6487627 --- /dev/null +++ b/38450.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6935 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence + The Lost Channel + +Author: Harry Gordon + +Release Date: December 31, 2011 [EBook #38450] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + + + + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + + + + +[Illustration: The wave caught the _Rambler_ broadside, and +in an instant she was beached high and dry on the bar.] + + + + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOAT +BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE + +OR + +THE LOST CHANNEL + +By HARRY GORDON + +Author of + + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Colorado" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Amazon" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbia" + "The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio" + +A. L. BURT COMPANY + +NEW YORK + + + + +Copyright, 1913 + +By A. L. Burt Company + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE + + + + +CONTENTS + + I--A Mysterious Visitor + II--A Treacherous Guest + III--Arrested for Piracy + IV--Concerning a Lost Channel + V--Teddy Gives an Exhibition + VI--Captain Joe Takes a Prisoner + VII--Case Has His Doubts + VIII--The Discovery of Max + IX--A Busy Night in Quebec + X--The Menagerie in Action + XI--The Crew Takes a Tumble + XII--Rivermen With a Thirst + XIII--A Meeting at Montreal + XIV--An Old Friend Appears + XV--Through the Famous Rapids + XVI--A Call from Wreckers + XVII--Captain Joe's Night Visit + XVIII--It Is Now Clay's Turn + XIX--A Splash of Water + XX--Lifting a Sunken Launch + XXI--Down in the Whirlpool + XXII--What the Eddy Brought Up + XXIII--The Lost Charter Is Found + + + + +THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR + + +It was dark on the St. Lawrence River at nine o'clock that August +night. There would be a moon later, but the clouds drifting in from +the bay might or might not hold the landscape in darkness until +morning. The tide was running in, and with it came a faint fog from +the distant coast of Newfoundland. + +Only one light showed on the dark surface of the river in the vicinity +of St. Luce, and this came from the deck of a motor boat, anchored +well out from the landing on the south side of the stream, fifty miles +or more from Point des Montes, which is where the St. Lawrence widens +out to the north to form the upper part of the bay of the same name. + +The light on the motor boat came from an electric lamp set at the +prow, six feet above the deck. It showed as trim and powerful a craft +as ever pushed her nose into those waters. + +Those who have followed the adventures of the Six River Motor Boat +Boys will not need to be told here of the strength, speed and perfect +equipment of the _Rambler_. The motors were suitable for a sea-going +tug, and the boat had all the conveniences known to modern +shipbuilders. She had carried her present crew in safety up the Amazon +to its source, down the Columbia from its headwaters, through the +Colorado to the Grand Canyon, and down the Mississippi from its source +to the Gulf of Mexico. + +All these trips had been crowded with adventure, but both the boys and +the boat had proved equal to every emergency. At the conclusion of the +Mississippi journey, the boys of the Six River Motor Boat Club had +decided to explore the St. Lawrence river from the Gulf to Lake +Ontario. + +The _Rambler_ had been shipped by rail to a point on the coast of New +Brunswick, and the remainder of the journey to St. Luce had been made +by water along the treacherous coasts of New Brunswick and Quebec. A +fresh supply of gasoline had been taken on just before night fell, and +on the approach of daylight the boys would be on their way up the +stream. + +Although it was early August, the night was decidedly cold, and +Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, Julian Shafer, and Cornelius Witters, +the four boys who had embarked on the trip, were sitting snugly around +a coal fire in the cabin. They were sturdy, healthy, merry-hearted +lads of about sixteen, all from Chicago, and all without family ties +of any kind so far as they knew. They had been reared in the streets +of the big city, and had become possessed of the _Rambler_ by a series +of adventures which the readers of the previous volumes of this series +will readily recall. + +The night grew darker as it grew older, and a strong wind came up from +the bay, bobbing the _Rambler_ about drunkenly. Clayton Emmett--always +just "Clay" to his chums--arose from his chair after a particularly +fierce blast from the wind and approached the cabin door. + +"Don't open that door!" shouted Alex Smithwick. "We'll be sent +smashing through the back wall if you do. This night makes me think of +a smiling summer day in Chicago harbor,--it's so different!" + +"Company!" Clay answered, excitedly, "We're going to have company. +Listen!" + +"Yes," laughed Jule Shafer, "I've got a flashlight of any one rowing +out to us to-night. The river is too rough for a rowboat." + +"Now you look here, Captain Joe," Clay went on, "don't you go start +anything!" + +This last remark was made to a white bulldog of sinister aspect which +had arisen from a rug in a corner of the cabin and now stood at Clay's +side, growling threateningly. Joe wagged a stumpy tail in +acknowledgment of the advice, but dashed out, snarling, as Clay opened +the door and gained the deck. + +"All right; go to it!" Alex laughed, as the door closed behind the +two. "Stick out on deck a spell and the wind will do the rest." + +Case Witters--he was never anything but "Case" to his friends--went to +the door and looked out through the blurred glass, wiping the inside +of the panel with his sleeve in order to get a clearer view. + +"What's coming off?" demanded Jule. + +"I hope we'll be able to get away on one trip without some one butting +in," suggested Case. + +"Say, now, look at Teddy," cried Jule, springing to his feet. + +"Teddy" was a quarter-grown grizzly bear. He had been captured on the +Columbia river, and had been a great pet of the boys ever since. He +now rose from the rug which he had occupied in company with Captain +Joe, the white bulldog, and shambled over to the door, against which +he lifted a pair of capable paws in an effort to get a view of the +deck. + +"Rubberneck!" called Alex, digging the cub in the ribs. + +"You know what you'll come to if you talk slang!" Jule grinned. +"You'll have to wash dishes for a week. We all agreed to that, you +know," he added as Alex wrinkled a freckled nose and pointed to the +bear cub still trying to look out. + +"Why don't you let him out?" he asked. "If the wind blows his hide +off, we'll make a rug of it. What is Clay doing?" + +Case did not reply to the question. Instead, he opened the door, +swinging it back with a bang, and both boy and bear ran out on deck. +The first thing Teddy did was to sit up on his hind legs and box at +the wind, which rumpled his fur and brought moisture to his little +round eyes. Boxing was one of the accomplishments taught him by the +boys, and he took great pride in it. + +Alex closed the door and, with Jule at his side, stood looking out on +deck. Clay, Case and the two pets stood at the prow, gazing down on +the river. + +Directly the top of a worn fur cap made its appearance above the +gunwale of the boat, followed almost immediately by the head and +shoulders of a man. Then Alex and Jule both rushed out of the cabin. + +"He must be a peach, whoever he is, to come off to us in a canoe over +that rough water to-night!" Alex cried. "I want to see that boat of +his." + +The boat in which the stranger had put off was rocking viciously in +the stream, and it was some seconds before he could secure a footing +which promised a successful leap for the deck. When at last he came +over the rail, the boys saw a heavily-built man with thin whiskers +growing out of a dark face. His eyes were keen and black, and the hair +hanging low down on his wide shoulders, was black, too, and straight. + +Holding his boat line in one hand, in order that the craft might not +drift away, he searched with the other hand in the interior pockets of +a rough Jersey jacket for a second, and then brought forth a sealed +package which he handed to Clay. As the boy took the package, the man +who had delivered it sprang, without speaking a word, to the railing, +hung for a moment with his feet in the air above the bobbing canoe, +dropped, and was almost instantly lost in the darkness. + +Leaning over the railing of the boat, wide-eyed and amazed, the four +boys stood for a moment trying to pierce the line of darkness beyond +the round circle of the prow light. Nothing was to be seen. The boat +had come and gone in the darkness. The packet in Clay's hands was the +only evidence that it had ever existed. Alex was the first to speak. + +"What do you know about that?" he shouted. + +"They must have fine mail facilities on the St. Lawrence!" commented +Case. + +"That was only a ghost!" Jule asserted, with a wink at Alex. "That +letter will go sailing up in the air in a minute." + +Clay opened the packet so strangely delivered and unfolded a crude map +of a country enclosed between two rivers. These rivers, after running +close together for a long distance, spread apart, like the two arms of +a pair of tongs, at their mouths, making an egg-shaped peninsula which +extended far into the main river. Back from the river shore, on this +rude drawing, a narrow creek cut through the territory between the two +rivers, making the peninsula an island. + +Below this rude drawing of the rivers and the peninsula was another of +an old-fashioned safe resting high up in a niche in a rocky wall. The +face of the wall was cross-hatched, to show that it was in the +shadows. + +Below the drawing of the safe, were these words: + +"At last! Follow instructions. Success is certain. Map enclosed. Point +straight to the north." + +The boys gathered closely around Clay, standing under the brilliant +prow light, and examined the paper, passing it from one to another +with questioning glances. + +"I guess," Alex said, "that we are drawing somebody else's cards." + +"Well," Case suggested, "that's a queer kind of a hand to come out of +the night." + +"Perhaps," Jule observed, "they present travelers on the St. Lawrence +with these little souvenirs just to excite interest." + +"Point straight to the north," repeated Clay. "I wonder what that +means." + +"I'd like to know what any of it means," Alex asserted. "It looks to +me like some one was butting in." + +"Well," Case remarked, "we have started out on every trip with a +mystery to unravel, and here we go again, loaded up with another." + +"You bet we have!" laughed Alex. "We harvested gold on the Amazon, +caught murderers on the Columbia, found a secret treasure in the Grand +Canyon, and chased pirates on the Mississippi, but this is the only +real Captain Kidd mystery we have struck yet." + +"What shall we do with it?" asked Clay, rattling the paper. + +"Throw it in the river and be on our way," proposed Case. + +"Suppose," Alex grinned, "there should be a barrel of money in that +safe they've made a drawing of. If there is, we want to get it." + +"I think we'd better be going on, just the same," Case said. "I'm for +dumping this map thing into the river and forgetting all about it." + +"Aw," Alex cut in, "that would be throwing away all the fun. I want to +go to this 'North,' wherever it is. There may be something funny doing +there." + +Captain Joe, who had been sitting at the prow, watching the boys with +an intelligent interest, now passed back to the cabin, leaped upon the +low roof, and bounded to the after deck. The boys heard him growling +threateningly for a moment, and then he came back. + +Teddy, the cub, arose from the place where he had been lying, sniffed +at the gunwale of the boat for an instant, and walked into the cabin. + +"What's the matter with our menagerie to-night," demanded Alex. "There +seems to be something in the air." + +"What do you see, Captain Joe?" asked Clay. "If it's a man, and he's +got a letter, you go get it. Some other fellow may be wanting us to go +South, or East, or West." + +As Clay ceased speaking, the splash of a paddle came faintly from the +darkness to the West. + +"Here comes R. F. D. postman number two," shouted Alex. + +As the boys listened, the splashings of the paddle came louder for a +moment, then ceased entirely. + +"Hello, the boat!" Alex cried. "Have you got a letter for us?" + +No answer came back. There was now a break in the clouds, and the moon +shone sharply down upon the swirling river, but only for an instant. + +"There he comes!" cried Jule. + +But the moonlight was gone, and the sound of the paddle was gone, and +just at the edge of the circle of light which came from the prow, an +Indian canoe glided, phantom-like, down the stream and disappeared. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A TREACHEROUS GUEST + + +"Do you suppose that is the fellow Captain Joe caught prowling around +the stem of the boat?" asked Jule as the canoe disappeared down the +river. + +Captain Joe answered the question by trotting up to the prow and +snarling at the disappearing canoe. + +"Now, what do you think he wanted here, anyway?" asked Alex. + +"Possibly he just dropped down to see if we were ready to start +north," Case observed with a yawn. + +"It looks to me," Alex said, "that we have struck a storm center of +some kind, and I'm going to bed and think it over. + +"I'm glad you're going to bed," Clay laughed, "for you get lost +whenever we leave you on watch." + +"But I always find myself!" answered Alex, with a provoking grin. + +It was finally arranged that Case should stand guard that night, and +the others prepared for sleep. The bunks were let down in the cabin, +the prow light was switched off, and directly all was dark, save when +the moon broke out from a bank of wandering clouds. + +Sitting well wrapped at the door of the cabin, shortly before +midnight, Clay once more heard the sweep of a paddle or an oar. He +arose and went to the prow. + +Off to the right, on a point of land below St. Luce, a column of flame +was beckoning in the gale from the gulf. Only the flame was to be +seen. There was neither habitation nor human figure in sight under its +light. While the boy watched, a signal shot came from the east. + +Then an answering light came from the north, and a ship's boat, +four-oared and sturdy, passed for an instant under the light of the +moon and was lost in the darkness. + +The rowboat had passed so close to the _Rambler_ that the watching boy +could have seen the faces of the occupants if they had not been turned +away. For a moment he had feared that it was the intention of the +rowers to board the _Rambler_, but they had passed on apparently +without noticing the boat at all. + +After following the boat with his eyes for an instant, he switched on +the prow light and turned to the cabin to awaken his chums. Here was a +new feature of the night which must be considered. + +As he turned toward the cabin, a white package lying upon the deck +caught his eye. It had not been there a moment before, so the boy +naturally concluded that it had been thrown from the row boat. He +lifted it and, going back under the prow light, opened the envelope +and read. + +"Don't interfere with what doesn't concern you. Go on about your +business, if you have any. Life is sweet to the young. Do you +understand? Be warned. Others have tried and lost." + +The puzzled boy dashed into the cabin with the paper in his hand. + +"Look here, fellows!" he shouted, pulling away at the first sleeping +figure he came upon, "R. F. D. postman number two has arrived. Here's +the letter he brought." + +He read the message aloud to the three wondering boys, sitting +wide-eyed on their bunks, and handed the paper to Clay. + +"What about it?" he asked. + +"I reckon," Alex observed with a grin, "that we're going to be +arrested for opening some one else's mail." + +"Don't you ever think this letter wasn't intended for us," Jule +declared. + +"And now," Case said, "I suppose we'll have to give up following the +orders given in the first letter. We're ordered off the premises. +See?" + +"Not for mine," Alex cried. "You can't win me on any sawed-off +mystery! I want to know what this means." + +After a time the boys switched off the prow light, turned on the small +lamp in the cabin, and sat down to consider seriously the events of +the night. While they talked, the clouds drifted away, and the whole +surface of the river was flooded with moonlight. The flame on the +south bank was seen no more. It had evidently been built as a beacon +for the men in the ship's boat. + +After a time, Captain Joe, who had been sitting in the middle of the +deliberative circle in the cabin, raced out to the deck. The boys +heard him growling, heard a conciliatory human voice, and then a quick +fall. + +When the boys switched on the prow light and gained the deck, they +found Captain Joe standing guard over a slender youth who had +evidently fallen to the deck to escape being tumbled down by the dog. +They gathered about waiting for him to speak--waiting for some +explanation of his sudden appearance on the motor boat. Captain Joe +seemed proud of his capture, and remained with threatening teeth +within an inch of the boy's throat. + +"Say, you!" shouted Alex. "Did you come by parcel post? We've been +getting letters all right, but no such packages as this." + +"Looks to me like he must have come in a parachute," Jule suggested. +"Where's your boat, kid?" he added. + +The visitor smiled brightly and sprang alertly to his feet. He looked +from face to face for a moment, smiling at each in turn, and then +pointed to a light canoe bumping against the hull of the _Rambler_. + +He was a lad of, perhaps, eighteen, slender, lithe, dark. His clothing +was rough and not too clean. His manner was intended to be +ingratiating, but was only insincere. + +"What about you?" demanded Alex. "Do you think this is a passenger +boat?" + +"A long time ago," replied the visitor, speaking excellent English, "I +read of the _Rambler_ and her boy crew in the Quebec newspapers. When +I saw the boat here to-night, I ran away from my employer and came out +to you. I want to go with you wherever you are going." + +"You've got your nerve!" Alex cried. + +"Oh, let him alone," Case interposed. "We've had a stranger with us on +every trip, so why not take him along?" + +Alex took the speaker by the arm and walked with him back to the +cabin. + +"Say," he said then, "this fellow may be all right, but I don't like +the looks of his map." + +"You'll wash dishes a week for that," Case announced. "You're getting +so you talk too much slang. Anyway, you shouldn't say 'map'--that's +common. Say you don't like his dial." + +"Oh, I guess I'll have plenty of help washing dishes," Alex grunted. +"But what are we going to do with this boy?" he added. + +Clay now joined the two boys in the cabin and asked the same question. + +"It is my idea," he said, "that the appearance of this lad is in some +way connected with the other events of the night." + +"What did you find out about him?" asked Clay. + +"He says his name is Max Michel, and that he lives at St. Luce," was +the reply. + +"Well," Clay decided, "we can't send him away to-night, so we'll give +him a bunk and settle the matter to-morrow." + +"I just believe," Alex interposed, "that this boy Max could tell us +something about those two boats if he wanted to." + +"I notice," Case put in, "that he's paying a good deal of attention to +what is going on in the cabin just now. He may be all right, but he +doesn't look good to me." + +Clay beckoned to Jule, and the two boys entered the cabin together, +closely followed by Captain Joe, who seemed determined to keep close +watch on the strange visitor. + +"How long ago did you leave St. Luce?" asked Clay of the boy. + +"An hour ago," was the answer. "I rowed up the river near the shore +where the current is not so strong and then drifted down to the motor +boat. I called out to you before I landed, but I guess you did not +hear." + +Alex, standing at the boy's back and looking over his head, wrinkled a +freckled nose at Clay and said by his expression that he did not +believe what the boy was saying. + +"Did you see a light on the point below St. Luce not long ago?" +continued Clay. + +The boy shook his head. + +"There are often lights there at night," he said. "Wreckers and +fishermen build them for signals. But I saw none there to-night." + +"What about the four-oared boat that left St. Luce not long ago?" Clay +asked. "Do you know the men who were in it?" + +"I didn't see any such boat," was the reply. + +"Well, crawl into a bunk here," Clay finally said, "and we'll tell you +in the morning what we are going to do." + +The boy did as instructed, and was, apparently, soon sound asleep. +Then the boys went out to the deck again and sat in the brilliant +moonlight watching the settlement on the right bank. + +There is a railway station at St. Luce, and while they watched and +talked, the shrill challenge of a locomotive came to their ears, +followed by the low rumbling of a heavy train. + +The prow light was out, and the cabin light was out, and the cabin was +dark now, because when the boys had sought their bunks, a heavy +curtain had been drawn across the glass panel of the door. From where +the boys sat, therefore, they could see nothing of the interior of the +cabin. + +Five minutes after the door closed on the stranger, he left his bunk +and moved toward the rear of the cabin. Against the back wall, stood a +square wooden table, and upon this table stood an electric coil used +for cooking. Above the table, was a small window opening on the after +deck. + +The catch which held the sash in place was on the inside and was +easily released. The boy opened it, drew the swinging sash in, passed +through the opening, and sprang down to the deck. + +Reaching the deck, the visitor, as though familiar with the situation, +ran his hand carefully about his feet feeling for a closed hatch. He +found it at last and, lifting it, peered into the space set aside for +the electric batteries and the extra gasoline tanks. + +Reaching far under the planking, he found what he sought--the wire +connecting the electric batteries with the motors. Listening for a +moment to make sure that his motions were not being observed, he drew +a pair of wire clippers from a pocket and cut the supply wire. Only +for the fact that the lights on the boat were all out, this villainous +act would at once have been discovered. As it was, the boys remained +at the prow believing the visitor was still asleep in his bunk. + +This act of vandalism accomplished, the boy dropped softly over the +stern into his canoe, still trailing in the rear of the motor boat. +Once in the canoe, he laid the paddle within easy reach and propelled +the boat along the hull of the _Rambler_, toward the prow with his +hands. Once or twice discovery seemed to the boy to be certain, for +Captain Joe came to the gunwale of the boat and sniffed suspiciously +over the rail. + +Once, Clay left his place at the prow and looked over into the stream, +but the moon was in the south and a heavy shadow lay over the water on +the north side, so the dark object slipping like a snake to do an act +of mischief reached the prow unseen. + +At that moment the boys left the prow and moved toward the cabin door. +In another instant they would have entered and noted the absence of +their guest, but Alex paused and pointed to lights moving in the +village of St. Luce. + +"There's something going on over there," he said "and I believe it has +something to do with what we've been bumping against. There's the +letter from the canoe, and the warning from the boat, and the boy +dropping out of the darkness on deck, and the signal lights, and now +the stir in the village. Some one who wishes us ill is running the +scenes to-night, all right." + +While the boys stood watching the lights of St. Luce, Max caught the +manila cable which held the motor boat and drew his canoe up to it. +Cutting the cable, strand by strand, so as to cause no jar or sudden +lurching of the boat, he left it slashed nearly through and, leaving +the strain of the current to do the rest, worked back through the +shadow and struck out up stream. + +Standing in the door of the cabin, the boys felt the boat sway +violently under their feet, then they knew from the shifting lights in +the village that they were drifting swiftly down with the current. +Clay sprang to the motors, but they refused to turn. + +Case hastened to the prow and lifted the end of the cable. There was +no doubt that it had been cut. Clay made a quick examination of the +motors and saw that the electrical connection had been broken. Then +Jule called out in alarm that they were drifting directly upon a rocky +island. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +ARRESTED FOR PIRACY + + +The _Rambler_, drifting broadside to the current, threatened to strike +full upon a rocky promontory projecting from the island which lay in +the course of the boat. In vain Case tugged at the tiller ropes. There +was no steerage way, and the boat was beyond control. + +"It looks like the last of the _Rambler_!" Case cried as the boat +drifted down. "The rock ahead will cut her in two if we strike it." + +But there was a current crossing the rocky point from north to south, +and the boat, catching it, was drawn away, so that in time, she came, +stern first, to the curve of a little channel into which the waters +drew. For a moment, the prow swung out, and the possibility of a +continuation of the vagrant journey was imminent. + +However, before the sweep of water turned the prow fairly around, Alex +was over the gunwale, clinging with all his might to the broken cable. +Clay and Jule were at his side in a moment and, half swimming, half +stumbling, quite up to their chins in the cold water, they held the +boat until the current swept it farther over on the sandy beach that +bordered the cove. + +"There you are!" shouted Alex, wading, dripping, from the river. "The +next time I take a trip on the _Rambler_, I'm going to wear a diving +suit. I'm dead tired of getting wet." + +"You're lucky not to be at the bottom of the river!" Clay announced. + +The rowboat, which lay upon the roof of the cabin, was now brought +down, a cable was taken out of the store room, and the _Rambler_ +firmly secured to a great rock which towered above the slope of the +cove. + +The boys stood for a moment looking over the surface of the river, +still bathed in moonlight, then Alex rushed into the cabin and brought +out a field glass. + +"What I want to know just now, is who cut that cable," he said. + +"That's easy," Jule replied. "It was the innocent little boy who had +read all about the _Rambler_ in the Quebec newspaper." + +Alex swept the river with the glass for a time and then passed it to +Clay. + +"There he goes," he said, "away up the river, heading for St. Luce! +That's the boy who disconnected the electricity and cut the cable. +That's the boy who we will even up with when we catch him, too." + +"And you're the boy who'll wash dishes for a week for talking slang!" +Jule taunted. + +"I'd wash dishes for a month if I could get hold of that rat," +answered Alex, angrily. "He came near wrecking the _Rambler_!" + +"Well," Clay said, "we may as well be getting the motors into shape. +We can't stay on this island long." + +"If we do, there's no knowing what will happen," Jule suggested. +"We've had two letters and a runaway to-night and the next thing is +likely to be a stick of dynamite." + +"Say, suppose we repair the electric apparatus and get away from this +vicinity right now," suggested Case, "I don't like the looks of +things." + +"Now, look here," Alex cut in, "I'm ready to get out of this section, +but do you mind what the first letter said about going north? Now that +means something. If the first letter hadn't told us to go north, and +the men who threw the second letter hadn't believed that we were +obeying instructions, we wouldn't have been interfered with. Now, +there's a friendly force here, and a hostile force. The friendly +people may be mistaken in our identity, but that doesn't alter the +fact that the hostile element is out to do us a mischief. + +"I'd like to find out what it is the friendly force expects us to do. +If we can learn that, we'll know why the hostile force is opposing us. +And so, it looks to me that instead of running away, we would better +find out what is wanted of us. How does that strike you, fellows? +Isn't that deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes?" + +"All right," Clay declared, "I'm willing to investigate, but we +mustn't spend all our time looking into one mystery, for if we have +the same luck we had on other trips, we are likely to come across +several more before we go back to Chicago." + +"I'd like to know," Case said, as they brought up an extra anchor and +a new cable, "why we were dumped on this island." + +"To get us out of the way, probably," Jule commented. "They +undoubtedly expected to steal or wreck the _Rambler_." + +"But the _Rambler_," Alex laughed, "has the luck of the Irish, so +she's still able to travel." + +The island upon which the boat had been cast, lay only a short +distance from the south shore of the river. In fact, at low water, +when the tide was out, it might have been possible to pass to the +mainland on dry ground. + +Its location was not more than two miles below the little landing at +St. Luce. In fact, as the boys afterwards decided, it must have been +from this island that the signal flame had burned early in the +evening. + +Working busily on the repairs, the boys did not notice the arrival +upon the island of two roughly dressed fellows, who landed from a +small boat and who took great pains to keep rocky elevations between +themselves and the cove where the boat lay. + +"I wonder," Jule asked, sitting down on the prow after a struggle with +the new cable, "whether the stories I have read about wreckers along +the St. Lawrence are true." + +While the boys discussed the possibility of wreckers working along the +stream, one of the two men clambered to an elevation which was in turn +hidden from the cove by a higher one and waved a red and blue +handkerchief toward the shore. + +The tide was now running out, and the channel between the island and +the mainland swirled like a mill-race. This, however, did not prevent +the launching of a boat from the shore, the same being manned by four +men. They edged along the shore and then, passing boldly into the +current, landed on the island at a point east of the cove. There they +secreted their boat and moved on toward the place where the boys, all +unconscious of their presence, were repairing the damages wrought by +their treacherous guest. + +It was Captain Joe who gave the first intimation of the presence of +others on the island. He sprang from the boat, paddled through the +shallow water between the hull and the shore, and set out for the +elevation where the man who had signaled had been standing. + +The boys heard a cry of pain, a shout of anger and a pistol shot, and +then Captain Joe came running back to where the _Rambler_ lay. + +"What was it you said about wreckers?" Case asked with a startled +look. "No beast or bird fired that shot!" + +"I was only wondering," Jule answered, "whether there are really +wreckers at work along the river. That's the answer!" + +"Well," Clay said, "we'll get on the boat to talk it over! In the +meantime, we'll be putting space between the _Rambler_ and this +island. If ever a wrecker's beacon told where to lure a boat to be +plundered, that flame we saw on the island told our sneaking guest +when to cut the _Rambler_ loose!" + +The boys hastened on board and Clay ran to the motors. At that +instant, four men made their appearance on the ledge above the cove, +beckoning with their hands and calling out to the boys that they had +something of importance to say to them. + +"They look to me like triple-plated thieves," Alex commented, "and I +wouldn't be caught on an island with them for a farm." + +Captain Joe seemed to approve of this decision, for he stood with his +feet braced, growling furiously at the beckoning men. + +"Boat ahoy!" one of the men cried. "We have a message for you." + +"All right," Case answered, "you may send it by wireless." + +"But it is important!" came from the man. + +During this brief conversation, the motors were slowly drawing the +_Rambler_ out of the sandy cove, the electric connection having been +made, and the men were rapidly approaching the shore. The boat moved +slowly, for the keel was dragging slightly in the sand, and the +wreckers, if such they were, stood at the water's edge before the +craft was more than a dozen yards away. + +Directly, all appearance of friendship ceased, and the men stood +threatening the boys with automatic guns. + +"Run back!" one of the men cried, "or we'll pick you off like +pigeons!" + +The boys had already taken their automatic revolvers from the cabin, +and now, instead of obeying the command of the outlaws, they dropped +down behind the gunwale and sent forth a volley not intended to +injure, but only to frighten. + +Apparently undismayed by the shots, the outlaws passed boldly down the +shore line seeking to keep pace with the motor boat as she drew out of +the cove. Every moment the motors were gaining speed. In another +minute, the _Rambler_ would be entirely beyond the reach of the +outlaws. + +Apparently hopeless of coercing the boys into a return, the outlaws +now began shooting. Bullets pinged against the gunwale and imbedded +themselves in the walls of the cabin but did no damage. + +A tinge of color was now showing in the east. Birds were astir in the +moving currents of the air, and lights flashed dimly forth from the +distant houses of St. Luce. Against the ruddy glow of the sky, a river +steamer lifted its column of smoke. Observing the approach of the +vessel, the outlaws redoubled their efforts to frighten the boys into +instant submission. + +However, the _Rambler_ was gaining speed, and the incident would have +been closed in a moment if the connection made between the batteries +and the motors had not become disarranged. In the haste of making the +repairs, the work had not been properly done. + +The propeller ceased its revolutions and the boat dropped back toward +the cove. Evidently guessing what had taken place on board, the +outlaws gathered at the point where it seemed certain that she would +become beached. + +Understanding what would take place if the motor boat dropped back, +the boys fired volley after volley in order to attract the attention +of those on the steamer. There came a jangling of bells from the +advancing craft, and she slowed down and headed for the point. The +outlaws fired a parting volley and disappeared among the rocks. + +The steamer continued on her course toward the little island, but +paused a few yards away and the boys saw a rowboat dropped to the +river. The _Rambler_ continued to drift toward the beach she had so +recently left and the rowboat headed for that point. + +Fearful that the boat would again come within reach of the outlaws, +Clay and Case now rushed to the prow, and threw the supply anchor over +just in time to prevent a collision between a nest of rocks and the +stern of the boat. + +The outlaws were now out of sight, and the boys felt secure in the +protection of the steamer, but directly the situation was changed, for +a show of arms was seen on board the rowboat, and the boys were +suddenly ordered to throw up their hands. + +"You fellows are nicely rigged out--fine motor boat, and all that," +one of the men in the boat shouted, "but the days of river pirates on +the St. Lawrence are over. You are all under arrest." + +"Gee whiz!" shouted Alex. "Is this what you call a pinch?" + +"It is what we call a clean-up," replied one of the men in the boat, +rowing up to the _Rambler_. "We've been watching for you fellows, and +now we've got you." + +"And what are you going to do with us?" asked Clay restraining his +anger and indignation with difficulty. + +"We're going to take you up to Quebec and put you on trial for +piracy!" + +"That'll be fine!" Jule commented. + +The boys tried to smile and make light of the situation as the four +men from the steamer boarded the _Rambler_, but they all understood +that it was a very serious proposition that they were facing. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +CONCERNING A LOST CHANNEL + + +The men from the steamer took possession of the _Rambler_ impudently, +acting like ignorant men clothed with small authority. The boys were +ordered to the cabin and the door locked. + +"We left our manacles on board the Sybil," one of the men announced, +"or we'd rig you out with some of the King's jewelry." + +"We'll overlook the slight for the present," Case flared back, "but +you be sure and bring the jewels at the first opportunity." + +"You'll get them quick enough," snarled one of the men. "Three days +ago we received notice that you were coming, and we've been watching +for you ever since. You came along just in time to be nicely trapped." + +"Do you mean that you were watching for the _Rambler_?" asked Clay, +lifting his voice in order that he might be heard through the glass +panel of the door. "I'd like to have you tell me about that." + +"No one knew the shape you would come in," was the gruff reply. "We +only knew that a band of pirates and wreckers who had been luring +vessels on the rocks along the bay was preparing to visit the St. +Lawrence. Perhaps you will tell me where you stole this fine boat?" + +"They must have a big foolish house in this province," Alex taunted, +"if all the King's officers are as crazy in the cupola as you are." + +"Let them alone," urged Clay. "No use in talking to men of their +stripe. Wait until we get to the captain of the steamer." + +The sailors continued to question the boys, resorting now and then to +insulting epithets, but the lads sat dumbly in the cabin until the +arrival of Captain Morgan, in charge of the steamer Sybil. To express +it mildly, they were all very much elated at the appearance of Captain +Morgan, who unlocked the cabin door, called them out on deck and +greeted them pleasantly. They all wanted to shake hands with him. + +"It seems," Clay said to the captain, as the latter motioned to the +sailors to move up to the prow, "that your men have captured a band of +bold, bad men. It was a daring thing for them to do!" + +The captain laughed until his sides shook, and the men, gathered on +the forward part of the deck, scowled fiercely, to which the captain +paid no attention at all. + +"Perhaps there is an excuse for the men," Captain Morgan finally said, +suppressing his laughter. "We heard firing as we came up the river, +and wreckers are known to be about." + +"If you have any doubt as to the presence of wreckers," Clay +explained, "just send your ruffians over on the island. The men who +did most of the shooting are there. They may also be able to find the +ashes of the signal fire the outlaws lighted." + +"That will be good exercise for them," Jule cut in, "and perhaps they +won't be so brave when they find they haven't boys to deal with." + +"Do you mean to tell me that the wreckers are now on the island?" +asked the captain. "If they are, we may yet be able to make a +capture." + +"They were on the island just before you came up," Clay answered, "and +I presume they are there yet. We'll help you take them." + +The captain laughed and looked critically at the slender, well-dressed +youngsters, then his eyes turned to the white bulldog and the bear, +now sniffing suspiciously at his legs. + +"It seems to me," he said, "that I have heard of this outfit before! +When I came aboard I thought I recognized the name of the _Rambler_. +This menagerie of yours settles the point. You brought Captain Joe, +the dog, from Para, on the Amazon and Teddy, the cub, from British +Columbia." + +"You've got it," Alex cried, "but how did you come to know so much +about us? We rather expected to get away from our damaged reputations +up here," he added with a wink and a grin. + +"You have long been famous in these parts," the captain answered, +"Ever since the _Rambler_ came riding up to the Newfoundland coast on +a flat car. It is a wonder that my men did not recognize you." + +"I don't believe they can read," laughed Alex. "Suppose you send them +over on the island to see if they can recognize some of the outlaws." + +One of the sailors approached Captain Morgan, saluted, and pointed to +the narrow channel between the island and the mainland. The sun was +now shining brightly in the sky, and the whole landscape lay bright +under its strong and rosy light. Half way across the channel, its rays +glinted on splashing oars, and from the shore came hoarse commands. + +"There are men leaving the island, sir," the sailor said. "Perhaps we +did get hold of the wrong fellows." + +"I should think you did," laughed the captain, "but there may be time +to correct the error. Signal to the steamer for more men, and drift +down in your boats. You may be able to capture some of those outlaws, +and," he added with a smile as the sailor turned away, "don't forget +that there is a reward offered for every one of them." + +"Perhaps we'd better go with the men," suggested Case. "We aren't +anxious to get where there's shooting going on, but we need the +money." + +"I prefer," the captain replied, "that you come on board the Sybil +with me. I'll have the cook get up a fine breakfast, and you boys can +tell me all about your river trips. I have always been interested in +such journeys and have long planned to take one myself." + +The boys readily agreed to this arrangement, Alex declaring that it +would save the washing of at least one mess of dishes, and all were +soon seated in the captain's cosy room. + +"I'll wait here an hour," Captain Morgan said, "to give my men a +chance to gather in some of the rewards, but after that I must be on +my way. We shall be late now, on account of this delay." + +The boys briefly described their river trips on the Amazon, the +Columbia, the Colorado and the Mississippi, and were rewarded with a +breakfast which Alex admitted was almost as good as he could cook +himself. + +"And now," Clay said, as they all stood on the deck, watching the +sailors returning empty-handed from their quest of the outlaws, "I +wish you would tell me what all this rural free delivery business +we've encountered means. We've been puzzling over it all night." + +As he spoke he handed the first letter--the one delivered by the +mysterious canoeist--to the captain, who smiled as he looked at it. + +"I'll tell you about that," he said. "There is a man over in Quebec +who claims that he owns about half of the province under a grant of +land made to Jacques Cartier in 1541 by Francis I. of France. This +grant, or charter, he claims, was confirmed to his family, the +Fontenelles, in 1603 by Samuel de Champlain, who was sent to Canada by +de Chaste, upon whom King Louis XIII. had generously bestowed about +half of the new world. + +"Fontenelle claims that all the kings and presidents of France from +1541 down to the present time have confirmed this grant so far as +certain mineral and timber properties are concerned. For years +Fontenelle has been trying to gain possession of the original charter +brought to this country by Cartier, but has never succeeded." + +"Would he secure a large amount of property if he found it?" asked +Alex. "How did it ever become lost?" + +"It disappeared from Cartier's hands," was the reply. "It is believed +that the recovery of the original charter would make the Fontenelles +very wealthy, especially as the family jewels, worth millions of +francs, are said to have been lost with the important document." + +"I think they had their nerve to send family jewels to America in +1541," Case cut in. "Might have known they would be lost." + +"You must remember," Captain Morgan replied, "that for years during +and following the reign of Francis I. the protestant persecutions kept +France in a turmoil. It was hinted that the Fontenelles did not favor +these persecutions and that the jewels were shipped to the new world +for greater safety. What I am telling you now, remember, is only +tradition, and not history. To be frank with you, I will say that I +don't believe it myself. It is too misty." + +"It is interesting, anyway," Clay declared, "and I'd like to hear more +about it, but tell me this--why should the Fontenelles, or their +agents, send this letter to us? And why should they send it, if at +all, in so mysterious a manner?" + +"I have heard," Captain Morgan replied, "that an expedition for the +recovery of this original charter was being fitted out at Quebec. Your +boat may have been mistaken for the one carrying the searchers." + +"Searching in this wild country?" questioned Alex. "Where do they +think this blooming charter is, I'd like to know?" + +Captain Morgan took the crude map into his hands and pointed to an +egg-shaped peninsula reaching out into the St. Lawrence between the +mouths of two rivers. + +"There is said to be a lost channel somewhere in that vicinity," he +said, "and tradition has it that the papers and the jewels were hidden +on its shore. The searchers, for years, have been in the hope of +finding this lost channel. They have never succeeded." + +"Then we're almost on the ground," cried Jule. "Where do we go to +reach this peninsula? We might be lucky enough to find this channel." + +"It doesn't exist," smiled Captain Morgan. "Every inch of that country +has been gone over with a microscope, almost, and there is no lost +channel there. At least, it can't be found." + +"There is one on the map, anyway," Alex observed. + +"Well," Clay laughed, "we have been mixed up with some one else's +affairs on every one of our river trips, and we may as well keep up +the record, so I propose that we spend a few days looking for this +lost charter and these family jewels." + +The boys all agreed to the proposition, and even Captain Morgan seemed +to gain enthusiasm as they talked over their plans. + +"I wouldn't mind being with you," the captain said, "but of course, I +can't go. However, if you keep on across the river, straight to the +north, you'll come to the egg-shaped peninsula. Keep to the right of +it, and you'll enter a broad river. This map shows you where the lost +channel is claimed to have existed. Go to it, kids, and good luck go +with you!" + +"Now then that point is settled," Clay smiled, taking the second +letter from his pocket, "tell us what this means." + +Captain Morgan looked over the paper carefully before making any +reply. His face clouded and an expression of anger came to his eyes. + +"The fact of the matter is," he said, "that for two hundred years the +Fontenelles have met with opposition in their search for the lost +channel. Some of the land claimed under the charter is now held by +innocent purchasers who believe their title to be perfect. + +"There is no doubt that such might come to a fair understanding with +the Fontenelles if the charter should ever be found, but it is alleged +that an association has been formed by the wealthier persons who are +interested to defeat any attempt made to discover the charter. They +claim, of course, that with the charter in their possession the +Fontenelles would be able to make their own exorbitant terms." + +"I knew it!" Alex cried. "We are in between two hostile interests +again! It always happens that way. But we like it!" + +"I have been thinking," Captain Morgan went on, "that the men who +attempted to wreck the _Rambler_ are not river pirates at all, but men +sent here to obstruct, as far as possible, those in search of the lost +channel. It certainly looks that way." + +"Well," Clay remarked, "they haven't got any motor boat, and we've got +one that can almost beat the sun around the earth, so we'll just run +away from them. In an hour after you leave here, we'll be in the east +river looking for the channel which is said to have connected it in +past years with the one paralleling it on the west." + +The sailors who had been searching now reported to the captain that no +strangers had been seen by them on the island, and it was agreed that +the outlaws, whether wreckers or men employed to obstruct the search +for the lost channel, had taken to the south shore. Captain Morgan +shook the boys warmly by the hand as they parted. + +"If you say any more about your plans," he said, "I'll be going with +you. Already I can sense the smoke of your campfire, and smell the +odor of the summer woods. There are fine fish up in those rivers, +boys, great shiny, gamy things that fight like the dickens in the +stream and melt like butter in the mouth." + +"We'll send you out some," promised Clay, and the steamer's boat +carried the boys back to the _Rambler_. + +The needed repairs were soon accomplished, and when night fell the +motor boat lay under a roof of leaves in a deep cove on one of the +rivers behind the egg-shaped peninsula. Just above the anchorage the +water tumbled, from a high ledge. The boys had no idea of remaining on +board that night, so they built a roaring campfire on shore and +stretched hammocks from the trees. + +"Right here," Clay said as the moon rose, "right about where we are +sitting, there may be a lost channel!" + +"That's all right," grinned Alex, "but I don't see myself getting very +wet sitting on it." + +"I don't blame any old channel for getting lost in this wild country," +Case contributed. "We'll be lucky if we don't get lost ourselves. Hear +the owls laughing at us!" + +"I've been listening to the owls," Clay said, "and I have concluded +that they are fake owls. If you'll listen, you will hear signals." + +The boys listened for a long time, and then above the rush of the +river and the murmur of the leaves in the wind, came a long, low call +which seemed to them to be a very bad imitation of owl talk. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +TEDDY GIVES AN EXHIBITION + + +"There is one sure thing," Clay said, as the boys listened, "and that +is that we have got to watch the _Rambler_ to-night. I propose that we +take down the hammocks and go back to our bunks." + +"It's a shame to sleep in that little cabin," Alex protested, "when +we've got the whole wide world to snore in. Suppose you boys remain +here on shore, and let me stand guard on the boat." + +"That will be nice!" Jule laughed. "Alex always gets his soundest +sleep when he's on guard." + +"Don't you worry about me," Alex said, "I'll keep awake, all right. +Besides, I want to hear the owls talk." + +"I think we would better all go back to the _Rambler_," Clay advised. +"We can anchor her farther out in the stream, leave one on guard, and +so pass a quiet night. It looks risky to leave the boat where she is." + +"Perhaps that's what we ought to do," Alex agreed, giving Jule a nudge +in the ribs with his elbow. "Who's going to stand watch?" + +"I will," Case offered. "I'll sit up until daylight, and then you boys +can get up and catch fish for breakfast." + +"I want a fish for breakfast two feet long," Alex declared. "I'll +catch it and cook it in Indian style. That will be fine!" + +"How do you cook fish a la Indian?" asked Case. + +"Aw, you know," Alex replied. "First, you get your fish; then you dig +a deep hole in the ground and fill it full of stones. Then you build a +roaring fire on the stones. Then you wrap your fish up in leaves and +put it on the hot stones and cover it up. Then, if you want it to cook +quick, you must build a fire on top. They sell fish cooked in that way +at two dollars an order in Chicago." + +"Cook it any way you want to," Clay said, "only don't muff it the way +Case does when he tries to make biscuits. We'll be hungry." + +Taking down the hammocks, the boys moved back to the _Rambler_. Clay, +Alex, and Jule, after listening in vain for a time for more signals +from the woods, finally went to their bunks, leaving Case sitting on +the deck, across which a great tree on the east bank threw a long blur +of shade. + +Clay and Jule were soon sound asleep, but Alex lay awake listening. +There was a notion at the back of his brain that the signals heard had +been treated too lightly. He knew that Clay, always active and ready +for any emergency, considered the party secure in midstream, but he +was by no means satisfied that the best steps for the protection of +the boat had been taken. + +After a time he arose, dressed himself, and softly slipped out on +deck, leaving the rest sleeping in the cabin. + +"It isn't morning yet," Case said, speaking out of the shadow. "Why +don't you go back to bed? You'll be sleepy to-morrow." + +"Have you heard any more owl talk?" asked Alex. + +"Not a line," replied Case. "Go on back to bed." + +Alex did go back to bed, but could not sleep. Presently the +long-expected owl-call came from the north, and then Teddy rubbed his +soft nose against the boy's hand. + +"What do you want, old man?" whispered Alex. "Does that hooting warn +you of danger, too?" + +The cub put his paws upon the edge of the bunk and tried to answer in +bear talk that it did. + +"All right," Alex said, "I'll just go out and see about it." + +When he reached the deck for the second time, Case stood at the +gunwale listening. The call came again from the woods. + +"Now you hear it, don't you?" asked Alex, scornfully. "I reckon you +fellows would sit around here and let those wops carry off the boat." + +"Well, haven't they got to show up before we can do anything to them?" +asked Case reproachfully. "I guess they have." + +"I'd like to know what they are doing," Alex wondered, "and I just +believe I could sneak out and learn something about it. It makes me +nervous, waiting here for them to get in the first blow." + +"If I had a house and lot for every time you've been lost on our river +trips," Case grinned, "I'd own the biggest city in the world. You go +back to bed, or I'll get Clay out here to tie you up." + +Teddy now came sniffing where the two boys stood, and, lifting his +paws to the gunwale, looked over in the forest. + +"See that!" Alex exclaimed. "Even the bear knows there is something +wrong on! If you'll keep that twirler of yours still for a little +while, I'll go and see what it is." + +"You're the wise little sleuth!" Case declared. "Go on back to bed and +dream that you're Nick of the Woods." + +"Tell you what," Alex said, "we'll tie a line to the rowboat, and I'll +row ashore, then you pull the boat back, and I'll creep out in the +thicket and see what I can discover. I believe those outlaws will +gather around the campfire. Anyway, they're foolish if they don't." + +"If you take my advice," Case said, "you won't go, but if you insist +on it, I'll draw the boat back, for our own protection." + +Very reluctantly, then, Case assisted in getting the boat into the +river, found a long line to attach to the prow, and helped the boy +away on his journey. He felt guilty for aiding in the adventure. + +Alex landed in a thicket almost straight west of the _Rambler_, and at +once secreted himself. No signals had been heard for some moments, and +the boy believed that he had reached the shore without attracting +attention. Case drew the boat back and sat waiting. + +Alex remained perfectly still in his hiding-place for some moments. +There was only the noises of river and forest. To the west, the embers +of the campfire made a faint red glow in the moonlight. + +Just as the boy was about to move out of the thicket, he heard a heavy +splash in the river, followed by words of command and entreaty from +Case. The splashing continued, and presently the bushes at the edge of +the stream were moved by an entering body. + +"That's Captain Joe!" thought Alex. "He's always ready for a run in +the woods. I suppose I ought to send him back." + +But it was not Captain Joe that thrust a wet nose into Alex's hand. It +was Teddy, the bear cub, and his greeting was so friendly and sincere +that all thoughts of sending him back to the boat vanished from the +boy's mind. Teddy shook the water from his coat like a great dog, and +cuddled up to the boy as if thanking him. + +"You're a runaway bear," Alex whispered to the cub, "and I ought to +send you back, but I'll just see if you know how to behave in the kind +of society I am going to mix with. Will you be good?" + +Teddy declared in his best bear talk that he would be good, and the +boy and the cub lay in the thicket, still listening, for a long time +before moving. Then Alex crept toward the campfire. + +When he came to a considerable rise in the center of the ground +between the two streams, he found that the ground was broken and +rocky. It seemed to him that a great crag had formerly risen where he +stood, and that some distant convulsion of nature had shattered it. + +To the south, between the rivers and at no great distance from the +egg-shaped peninsula, ran a long, rocky ridge. Making his way to this, +he secreted himself in the shadow of a boulder and settled down to +watch and listen. + +After a time Teddy grew impatient at the inactivity thus forced upon +him, and began moving restlessly about. + +"Bear!" warned Alex, "if you make any more racket here, I'll send you +back to the boat. We're supposed to be sleuthing!" + +Teddy evidently did not like the idea of being sent back to the boat, +or of keeping still either, so he almost immediately disappeared, +notwithstanding Alex's efforts to detain him by main force. The boy +called to him in vain. + +"Now," thought Alex, "the cub has gone and done it! He'll thrash +around in the woods and scare my outlaws away. I wish I had tied him +up on the boat. I might have known he would make trouble." + +The boy waited a long time, but the cub did not return. Now and then +he could hear him moving about in the thicket. + +"He's just laughing in his sleeve at me!" complained the boy. "I wish +I had hold of him!" + +Directly a sound other than that made by the bear came to the ears of +the listening boy. Some one was creeping towards his shelter. He could +see no one, for the shadows were thick at the point from which the +sounds proceeded, but presently, he heard a voice. + +"They went back to the boat," some one said gruffly. + +"That's all the better for us," another spoke. + +"I don't know about that," the first speaker said. + +"Why, we'll just cut her out and take boys and boat and all." + +"That's easier said than done," was the reply. "Those boys are no +spring chickens. They have guns and they know how to use them." + +"Well," the other chided, "it isn't my fault that they went back to +the boat. If you hadn't been giving your confounded signals, they +would have slept by the fire and everything would have been easy." + +Alex listened with his heart beating anxiously. There was no longer +any doubt that the right construction had been placed on the signals +which had been heard. The outlaws who had attacked them in the cove +were now on the peninsula, ready to make trouble. + +While the boy listened for further conversation, a rustling in the +thicket at the base of the cliff told him that Teddy, the cub, was +still in that vicinity. He chuckled at the thought which came to him. + +"I wish I had the little rascal here," he mused. "I think he might be +able to do something in the line of giving those fellows exercise! I +wish I could get over to him." + +The boy started in the direction of the sound, but paused when he +heard one of the men saying: + +"Where are the others?" + +"Down on the river shore," was the reply. + +"Then what is all that noise?" demanded the other. + +"I don't hear any noise," was the surly reply. + +"There is some one moving in the bushes." + +"Then it must be one of the boys," Alex heard, "and I think we had +better investigate. It would be luck to catch one of them." + +"It wouldn't be any luck for me to be caught," thought Alex, "and so +I'll just make a sneak back to the boat. I've learned all I wanted to +know, anyway." + +He started away, but almost at his first motion a stone became +detached from the ledge at his side and went thundering down toward +the spot from which the voices had proceeded. + +"There!" one of the men cried, "I told you there was some one here." + +Together the men immediately rushed to the spot where Alex lay hidden. +They rustled through the bushes without any attempt at concealment, +scrambling up the acclivity with the use of both hands and feet. + +As they advanced another rustling came from the left, and Alex saw +Teddy on the way back to his side. The moon, creeping farther to the +south, found an opening in the dense foliage above the ledge, and +threw a long shaft of light upon the exact spot where Alex lay, +revolver in hand, waiting for the expected attack. + +He moved out of this natural limelight hastily, but as he did so +another figure entered it. Advancing swiftly, the men who had +discovered the location of the boy, saw him disappear and saw the new +figure which came upon the scene. They stopped instantly. + +To their excited imaginations Teddy, standing somewhat above their +heads, seemed to be at least nine feet high! Evidently trying to +propitiate Alex for running away from him, the cub set about +practicing all the stunts the boys had been teaching him for months. + +Standing upon his hind legs, he extended his paws in a boxing attitude +and pranced about, as he had been taught to do, in all the attitudes +of the prize ring. The hair on his neck and back seemed to bristle +with anger. His little round eyes, bright in the moonlight, twinkled +viciously! + +The men who were watching this trained exhibition, held their breaths +in terror. They expected to be attacked by the animal immediately. +Directly, they began backing slowly away. Then Teddy broke into his +pet amusement, a whirling half-dance and they turned and ran, +stumbling down the declivity, brushing through the briars and clinging +vines of the thicket, and finally disappearing in the shadows farther +upstream! + +It did not take Alex long to find his way to the cub. + +"You certainly are enough to scare the life out of a stranger," he +said, addressing the bear. "If you don't mind, now, we'll go back to +the boat. We've got news for the boys, at any rate." + +But Teddy was not inclined to go back to the close cabin. He wanted a +longer run in the woods. Before Alex could seize the collar which had +been placed about his neck, he was away again. Alex pursued him for +some distance, and then turned back toward the boat. + +When he reached the shore and called softly to Case to row the boat +over to him, there was no answer from the craft, as the rush of the +river drowned his voice, but a most unexpected one came from the shore +back of him. He turned quickly to see the barrel of a gun shining in +the moonlight. He reached for his own weapon, but a hand caught his +wrist and held it, as if in a grasp of iron. + +"All right, kid," a harsh voice said, "if they don't want you on your +boat, we'll give you a home on ours. We've got the snuggest little +craft upstream you ever saw. You're welcome to it, only it may be +dangerous for you to try to get away or make any noise!" + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +CAPTAIN JOE TAKES A PRISONER + + +Case waited patiently a long time for the return of his chum. When it +came near midnight he decided to awaken Clay and inform him of the +situation. The latter was out of his bed instantly. + +"He shouldn't have gone," the boy said, anxiously. "There is no doubt +that he is in trouble of some kind. I'm sorry for this!" + +"Well, he would go," Case urged, "and he promised to go only to the +shore and look around. Just after he left, Teddy splashed off the boat +and ran into the thicket. I presume the two are together." + +"Of course they're together," said Clay, "That is, if Teddy hasn't +been discovered and shot. That is likely to happen." + +"What shall we do?" asked Case anxiously. + +"It isn't much use to go into the thicket after him," Clay decided. +"There is plenty of moonlight here, it is true, but the foliage must +make it very dark in the forest. It would be like looking for a +special pebble on the beach to try to find him now. We'll have to +wait." + +"Perhaps Teddy will come and bring us news," suggested Case. "I have +known him to do such things. He's a wise little bear." + +There was no more sleep on board the _Rambler_ that night. With the +first flush of dawn Clay and Jule were abroad in the forest, leaving +Case on watch. Although they searched patiently for a long time, no +trace of the missing boy could be discovered. + +Here and there were tracks which must have been made by Teddy, but it +was not certain that the two had been together. After a time the boys +returned to the bank of the river just above the location of the +_Rambler_. There they found where a boat had been drawn up to the +bank. + +"I don't see how they ever got a boat by us," Clay argued, "but they +certainly did, for they couldn't have got here first. They must have +sneaked up the east shore in the shadows and landed above the +_Rambler_. Are you sure that no boat passed down after Alex left?" he +asked of Case. "One might have drifted down without making much +noise." + +"I was awake every minute of the time," Case insisted, "and no boat +passed down. When the moon swung around to the south, the whole river +was illuminated. I would have seen any craft that passed." + +"Then it is certain that the intruders are still up river, perhaps +above the falls, and I am afraid that Alex is where they are. That +little rascal is always getting lost! He should have remained on +board." + +"Yes, he gets lost," admitted Case, loyally, "but he always comes out +on top in the end. There wouldn't be any fun if Alex and Teddy were +not always getting into trouble. It sort of keeps things moving!" + +"Well," Clay concluded, "the place to look for the boy is, as I said +before, upstream. Now, the question is, shall we take the _Rambler_ +up?" + +"I am afraid the motors would declare our presence," Case observed, +speaking from the deck of the boat, "and, besides, we couldn't go very +far on account of the falls, so, perhaps, we would better go up as far +as we can in the rowboat, making as little noise as possible." + +"And what's the matter with putting Captain Joe on shore?" asked Jule. +"He may be able to point out the spot where the men left the river. +Anyhow, it won't do any harm to try." + +"That's a good idea," declared Clay, "and I'll go along with him." + +"I'm afraid you'll find it pretty rough walking along that bank," Case +suggested, "for the country is rocky and leads up to the plateau above +the falls, and small streams may run in from the peninsula. You might +have to swim when you wasn't climbing hills." + +"I'll try it a short distance, anyway," Clay answered, "and you, Case, +remain on board and let Jule row up in the boat." + +This arrangement was carried out, and in a short time, the little boat +was moving upstream, with Jule pulling cautiously at the oars. Clay +found the bank a difficult one to ascend. He was obliged to wade +through small creeks and climb rocky heights, but he kept steadily on +his way, with Captain Joe at his heels. + +At last, they came to a creek which ran into the river at the foot of +the falls. On the south side of this creek, for some distance in, was +a level, grassy plateau, and here Captain Joe picked up the scent they +were looking for. The south bank showed that a boat had recently been +drawn up there. + +Disregarding, for the time being, all commands from the boy, the dog +raced up the small stream, and finally disappeared in a thicket. + +Clay hesitated, undecided as to whether he ought to follow the dog at +once or return to notify Jule of his discovery and secure his +assistance. + +He had already lost sight of the dog, so he concluded that he might as +well return to Jule. This he did, and in a short time, the boat was +anchored at the mouth of the creek, and the boys were pressing on into +the thicket. Captain Joe was nowhere in sight. + +"They certainly are on this side of the creek," Clay reasoned, "for +they couldn't very well make progress on the other side unless they +traveled in an aeroplane." + +There were no tracks to follow, no indications of any one having +passed that way recently, but the boys kept pluckily on, listening now +and then for some sign from the dog. + +"If he finds Alex," Jule declared, "he'll make a note of it, and we'll +hear a racket fit to wake the dead." + +"And that will warn the outlaws of our approach," said Clay in a +discouraged tone of voice. "Perhaps we did wrong to bring the dog." + +"You may be sure Captain Joe will give a good account of himself," +Jule said confidently. "He may make a racket, but it's dollars to +apples that they won't catch him." + +In a short time the clamor the boys had been expecting came from the +forest beyond. Captain Joe was barking and growling and, judging from +the commotion in the copse, was evidently threshing about. + +"That's a scrap," Jule declared. "Perhaps he has caught one of the +men. If he has, I hope he's got him by the throat." + +Pressing into the interior of the forest, the level grassy plateau +having long since disappeared, the boys finally came to a small +cleared glade and discovered the cause of Captain Joe's enthusiasm. + +Teddy, the cub, was standing with his back to the hole of a giant tree +inviting the dog to a boxing match. Captain Joe's clamor indicated +only delight at the meeting with his friend. + +Before showing themselves in the glade, the boys looked in every +direction for some indication of the outlaws, but there was no sign of +human life anywhere near them. No noise, save the cries of the +creatures of the air and the jungle. + +"You're a fine old scout, Captain Joe," whispered Clay as he finally +advanced into the glade. "You notify everybody within a mile of us as +to our location, but you don't do a thing to help us find Alex." + +At mention of the lost boy's name, Teddy dropped down from his +antagonistic attitude, and, thrusting a soft muzzle against Clay's +hand, moved away to the west. + +"The cub has more sense than the dog," Jule exclaimed. "Captain Joe +makes a noise, and Teddy does the piloting. Do you suppose he knows +where Alex is?" he added. + +"It seems to me that he is trying to tell us something," Clay replied. +"Anyway, we may as well follow him." + +Teddy, who was an especial favorite of Alex's, and never lost an +opportunity of following him about, appeared to know exactly where he +was going, for he maintained a steady pace for half an hour or more, +keeping to the south shore of the creek for a time and then crossing +on a fallen tree to the opposite bank. + +"Now," said Clay, "we ought not to follow close behind the cub. He +makes as much noise as a freight train going up a steep grade, and +we'll be sure to be seen if the outlaws are anywhere about." + +"Perhaps he will go on alone," Jule suggested. + +"In that case, we can skirt his track and remain hidden. That ought +not to be very difficult in this broken country." + +Teddy turned about with an inquiring glance as the boys left his side, +but soon proceeded on his course. Fearful that Captain Joe would +indulge in another demonstration of some kind, the boys kept him with +them, Jule keeping a close hold on his collar. + +"This doesn't seem much like a river trip to me," Jule grinned as they +passed over rocks, sneaked through miniature canyons and threaded +thickets alive with briers and clinging vines. "Seems more like an +overland expedition to the north star." + +"There is one compensation," Clay added humorously. "Alex will get +good and hungry--and serve him right at that." + +"Huh!" Jule declared, "Alex is always hungry anyway." + +Teddy now quickened his pace so that the boys had great difficulty in +following him. He ran with his nose to the rough ground, his short +ears tipped forward, for all the world like a hound on a scent. + +"Look at the beast!" Jule laughed. "Acts like he was a hound after +foxes. That's some bear, Clay." + +"So far as I know," Clay answered, "he's the only cub that ever did a +stunt like that. Still, he's only exhibiting the advantages of an +early education, for he has long been trained to follow us." + +After a short time the boys, advancing up a ledge and then into a +little gully, came upon Teddy lying flat on the ground, his nose +pointing straight ahead. When they came to him Captain Joe pulled +fiercely to get away, his nose pointing straight to the north. + +"I guess," Jule panted, holding to the dog with all his strength, +"that they have located Alex. If you'll take charge of this +obstreperous animal for a while, I'll sneak ahead and have a look." + +Clay finally succeeded in quieting the dog, and Jule pushed on up the +gully. At the very end, where the depression terminated in a wall of +rock, he saw a faint column of smoke. A closer approach revealed a +small fire of dry sticks with something cooking in a tin pail over the +coals. + +Jule stopped and considered the situation seriously. + +"Now, I wonder," he thought, "why Teddy didn't make a fool of himself +by rushing right up to Alex. I don't believe he's scared of the men, +and, to tell the truth, I don't see any men to be frightened at. Alex +seems to be there alone. Wonder why he doesn't run." + +The reason why Alex didn't run was disclosed in a moment. The boy's +hands were tightly bound across his breast and a strong rope encircled +his ankles. For a moment there was no one in sight save the boy, then +a roughly dressed man came into view carrying an armful of dry wood +for the fire. Jule heard both the dog and the cub protesting at being +kept away from the fellow, and saw the man turn sharply about. + +Then there came another revelation. With bound arms swinging out, and +bound feet kicking violently, Alex was ordering the two animals away. +Well trained as they were, they protested while they obeyed. + +"Is that that bear of yours, again?" Jule heard the man asking. "If I +wasn't afraid of attracting attention, I'd put a bullet into him. Call +him up here and keep him quiet while I gather more dry wood. The boys +will be here in an hour or so and will want breakfast." + +"That settles it," whispered Jule. "If the boys are so far away that +they won't be back in an hour or more, they won't find any cook when +they return. If I have my way, the cook will be tied up." + +"All right," Alex said in reply to the fellow's order, "I'll call him +up and keep him quiet after you go away. He's been used to polite +society and doesn't like you!" + +The man snarled out some surly reply and disappeared. Jule was at his +chum's side in a moment. The ropes were cut, and the two boys were +speeding back to where Clay had been left. + +There was a little scene of congratulation, and then Captain Joe, +growling fiercely, leaped forward. The man who had gone in search of +wood must have heard the noisy greetings of the boys, for he came +running back to the fire. The boys saw him throw a hand back for a +weapon, heard an exclamation of anger, and knew that the dog was +springing at his throat. + +The struggle was a short one, for the man who had been attacked had +not succeeded in reaching his revolver. When the boys reached the +scene the man was black in the face and the dog was shaking him +viciously by the neck. + +"Captain Joe seems to know who his friends are!" Alex shouted. + +"If we don't break his hold in a minute, the man will be dead," Jule +exclaimed, dancing excitedly about, "and we're not out to commit +murder." + +When the clutch of the dog was finally released, the man lay back, +panting, on the ground. An examination of his injury showed that it +was not serious, his throat having been compressed rather than torn. + +In a moment the man sat up and glared about with murder in his +protruding eyes. Seeing the dog still watching him, he gave him a +vicious kick and came near inviting a repetition of the attack. + +"I'll kill that dog!" he shouted. + +"No, you won't!" laughed Alex. "We're going to take that dog out of +this blooming country. We're going to tie you up so you won't +over-exert yourself while in your present weakened condition, and +streak it for the motor boat. We've had enough of this blooming +election precinct." + +This program was carried out so far as moving back toward the motor +boat was concerned, but when, after a long, hard journey, they came to +the place in the river where the _Rambler_ had been left, it was +nowhere to be seen. Satisfied that Case had not proceeded up the +river--the falls would have prevented a long run up--they all entered +the rowboat and passed on down toward the St. Lawrence. + +"Talk about getting lost!" grinned Alex. "Case has gone and lost the +boat!" + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +CASE HAS HIS DOUBTS + + +As may well be imagined, Case was waiting impatiently on board the +_Rambler_ while the events described in the last chapter were taking +place in the forest. It is one thing to face a desperate situation in +the company of helpful friends. It is quite another to consider a +grave peril alone, especially when chums are in danger. + +Several hours passed, and Case heard nothing from the wanderers in the +forest. Then an unexpected visitor arrived. The boy saw an Indian +canoe paddled swiftly up the river. + +He had not had a good chance to observe the visitor who had cut the +cable, thus bring about the meeting with the steamer people, but it +was his opinion that the canoeist was none other than the boy who had +given his name as Max Michel. He anxiously awaited the arrival of the +craft. + +"If that is Max," he thought, "he certainly has a well-developed nerve +to come back to the _Rambler_ after doing what he did." + +In a short time the canoe, coming steadily upstream, touched the hull +of the motor boat, and its occupant clambered alertly to the deck. +Case stood for a moment regarding him with disapproval, no welcome at +all in his face. The boy approached with a confident smile. + +"What are you doing here?" demanded Case. + +"I came," was the quick reply, "because I have news which may interest +you. I know you have good reason to doubt my friendship, but I hope +you will listen to me. It will be in your interest to do so." + +"News of my friends?" asked Case quickly, forgetting in the impulse of +the moment that the boy's information was more than likely to be +misleading. "Have you seen any of the boys to-day?" + +"No," was the slow reply, "but I have heard from them. They crossed +the peninsula early this morning, were lured into a boat passing down +a parallel stream, and must now be somewhere on or near the St. +Lawrence." + +"How do you know all this?" demanded Case half-angrily. + +"Ever since the night I cut your cable," Max began, "I have been more +than ashamed of myself. I was ordered to do the work, and believed +that there was nothing else for me to do except to obey. I was not far +from St. Luce yesterday when you boys went aboard the _Sybil_. The +steamer touched at St. Luce and I afterwards heard the captain telling +a friend of meeting you. Then I decided to return to you, if you were +still in this vicinity." + +"And so you come here and tell me a fairy tale about my chums?" Case +exclaimed. "You don't expect me to believe a word you say, do you?" + +"And yet it is the truth," Max insisted. "I was up this morning early, +paddling across the St. Lawrence, for I knew from the Captain's +conversation that you were over here. Not long ago I came upon a boat +leaving the river to the west. From the man who was rowing, I learned +that your friends had been attacked and captured." + +Case still doubted. He did not like the look in the eyes of the boy. +He remembered the treacherous act which had sent the disabled +_Rambler_ drifting down the St. Lawrence. He thought fast for a moment +and then asked abruptly: + +"Will you tell me what your interest is in this matter?" + +"What do you mean by that?" + +"Why did you cut our cable?" + +The boy hesitated a moment, glanced casually over the west bank of the +stream and then lowered his eyes to the deck. + +"I was ordered to do so," he said in a moment. + +"Ordered to disable our motors and cut our cable?" demanded Case +indignantly. "Don't you know that you might have been the cause of our +death? Is everything you have told me to-day just as true as the fairy +tales you told us that night? You may as well be frank." + +Again the boy hesitated. To Case it seemed that he was listening for +some sound or signal from the shore. + +"Will you tell me," continued Case, "who it was that ordered you to +cut our cable and disable our motors?" + +The boy shook his head. His manner was now anxious and uneasy, and +Case turned his own eyes toward the shore which was being watched so +closely. + +"I can't give you the name of my employers," the boy finally said. + +"Then tell me this," insisted Case. "Why did the men who ordered you +to do the work want it done?" + +"I don't know," was the brief reply. + +"I presume," Case went on, "that you would have destroyed the +_Rambler_ with a stick of dynamite if you had been told to do so." + +"I wouldn't have committed murder," was the quick reply. + +"Now let us get back to your story of to-day," Case said. "Who was it +that told you of the capture of my chums?" + +"I can't tell you that." + +"Was it one of your employers?" + +"It was not." + +"Was it a man with whom you are acquainted?" asked Case. + +"I never saw him until to-day," he replied. + +"How did he come to speak to you of the boys at all?" + +"He mentioned that he had seen three boys evidently under a restraint +in a boat with three men farther up the stream." + +"So the boat held three men and three boys? Anyone else?" + +"He did not mention any one else." + +"And the six people were the sole occupants of the boat, were they?" + +"That is what the man told me." + +"Before you concocted this story," Case declared scornfully, "you +ought to have jogged your memory a trifle. You saw Captain Joe and +Teddy on board the _Rambler_ the night you cut our cable. Why didn't +you add to your story and say that the dog and the bear were with the +three boys?" + +"The man I saw said nothing to me about the dog and the bear," Max +insisted stubbornly. "I had only a moment's talk with him." + +"And then you came directly to the _Rambler_ to tell me of the +incident?" + +"I came directly to the spot where I believed the _Rambler_ would be," +was the answer. "Of course, I didn't know exactly where you were, but +Captain Morgan said that when you left him it was your intention to +ascend this stream. I was lucky in finding you." + +"And now," Case asked, with a scornful smile on his lips, "what do you +expect me to do under the circumstances? What would you advise?" + +"I thought," replied Max, "that you would go down the river, and make +your way to the mouth of the other stream." + +"Why do your employers want me to leave my present location?" asked +Case. "Do they want the boys to come out of the forest and find the +_Rambler_ gone? Is that what you were sent here for?" + +"Oh, well," Max exclaimed, "if you don't believe what I say, and won't +take advantage of the honest information I have given you, I may as +well be on my way." + +He moved toward the gunwale of the boat, as he spoke and began untying +the line which held his canoe to the _Rambler_. Case stepped forward +and laid a detaining hand on his shoulder. + +"Just a moment," the boy said. "You are not going to leave the +_Rambler_ until my chums return, and perhaps not then." + +"Do you mean that you intend to keep me prisoner?" flashed Max. + +"That is just exactly what I mean to do," Case responded. "I don't +know what your object in coming here really is, for I believe that as +a prevaricator, you have Ananias backed off the board. I dislike to +use the shorter and uglier word, Max, but you certainly are the +greatest liar I ever came across. You'll stay here until we know more +about you." + +"You'd better do a little thinking before you keep me here," Max +threatened. "You are making a lot of trouble for yourself." + +"I'll have to risk that," Case replied. "Have you got any weapons +about your person? If you have, give them up." + +Max shook his head angrily. + +"If I had had a weapon," he declared, "you would have known all about +it the minute you laid a hand on my shoulder." + +"Will you promise to remain on the boat without attempting to escape +if I leave you your liberty?" Case asked. + +"I will promise nothing!" was the ugly reply. + +"All right," Case said. + +There was a rush and a little struggle, but in the end, Max was +overcome and stowed away bound hand and foot in the cabin. + +Leaving his prisoner there, foaming with rage and searching a limited +vocabulary for words to express his feelings, Case went out to the +prow of the _Rambler_ and sat down to think over the situation. + +"That boy," he mused, "was sent here to induce me to take the +_Rambler_ out of this place. Why?" + +The boy considered the problem for a long time. He was hoping that +some of his chums would make their appearance. He disliked very much +to take the _Rambler_ away from the place where they had left it, and +still there might be a grain of truth in what Max had said. + +The day was bright and still. The deep green foliage of the forest +shone and shimmered in the sun. There were birds in the air, and here +and there timid creatures of the jungle came out to the stream to +drink and peer with questioning eyes at the stranger who had invaded +their leafy retreat. There were no signs of human life anywhere except +on board the _Rambler_. The continued absence of the boys seemed +unaccountable. + +"Well," the boy decided, presently, "I'll take a chance on a visit to +the St. Lawrence. It won't take long to run down, swing up to the +other end of the peninsula and investigate the west stream. If the +boys come back while I am gone, they'll probably hear the motors +clamoring and know that I am not far away. Still, I don't think +they'll come." + +Case was slowly reaching the uncomfortable conclusion that the boys +had, indeed, been overcome by the outlaws. In that case, his first act +ought to be to secure help. If he returned to the St. Lawrence, he +might meet a friendly captain who would be willing to assist him in +the rescue. + +So, with this idea in his mind, the boy drew up the anchor, started +the motors to popping and headed the _Rambler_ down stream. The boat +proceeded at full speed, and soon the arm of the bay which closed in +behind the peninsula came in view. + +Anchored there, in a sheltered cove on the north shore of the river, +was a trim little launch. Case could see four men moving about in the +cockpit at the rear of the little trunk cabin. He immediately directed +the _Rambler_ toward the craft and hailed across the water. He was +answered promptly. + +"Is that the _Rambler_?" was asked. + +"The _Rambler_ it is," answered Case. "Are you looking for her?" + +"Not especially," was the reply. "We were told that you were here by +Captain Morgan, whom we saw up the river." + +"Come aboard," invited Case, and in a few moments two bright-looking +young men ascended from a small boat to the deck of the _Rambler_. + +"I am Joseph Fontenelle," one of the young men said, "and this is my +friend, Sam Howard. We were just going up the river when we saw you +coming down. Are you alone on board?" + +"My friends are somewhere back in the forest," Case explained, certain +that it was safe to trust the visitors. "I seem to have lost them." + +"Then we have probably arrived just in time," Fontenelle went on. "As +you probably know from my name, we are here on the old search for the +charter. Captain Morgan, I am told, related the story to you. For +myself, I have little faith in the quest, but father insists that I +make a try to solve the mystery every summer. This is my third visit +to what we call Cartier island. I expect to make them annually as long +as father lives." + +"You have no faith in the story of the lost charter and the missing +family jewels?" asked Case. + +"Oh, they were lost, without doubt, and possibly in this country, but +there is no clew whatever to their whereabouts." + +Case was wondering if the Fontenelles had a copy of the crude map +which had been so mysteriously brought to the _Rambler_. He was +wondering, too, if it would be safe for him to tell this youthful +representative of the French family all that he knew of the two +communications and the attacks which had been made on the _Rambler_. +The question was virtually settled by Fontenelle himself. + +"I am told," the young man said, "that you boys were placed in peril +by being mistaken for us." + +"We had a scrap with river pirates, if that is what you mean," Case +replied, "and Captain Morgan helped us to get away from them." + +"I'm afraid," Fontenelle went on, "that the men you term 'river +pirates' are pirates only for the purpose of this occasion. We have +always been opposed in our quest for what father calls the lost +channel." + +"Opposed everywhere in your searches?" Case asked, "or opposed only +when you come to this section?" + +"Opposed only in this vicinity," answered Fontenelle, gazing keenly at +the boy. "I see what you mean," he added. "At least, your inference is +that those who are opposing us really know more about the location of +the charter and the jewels than we know ourselves, and that they +believe them to be here." + +"That is the way it seems to me," Case answered, "still if they think +they know that the property sought for is in this vicinity, their +knowledge fails when they try to put their hand upon it. They can only +hope for success in case of your failure, and so they oppose your +every effort." + +"That is the way in which we look at it," Fontenelle replied. "In +fact, father is positive that the search for the charter goes steadily +on in this vicinity throughout most of the year. + +"Last year, we had quite a merry picnic with a scout sent up to +obstruct our search, and one of our men was seriously wounded. Our +enemies are certainly becoming desperate, and if, as you say, your +chums appear to be lost in the forest, we ought to be getting up there +to look after them. They may be sorely in need of help." + +"I thank you for your offer of assistance," Case replied, "and it is +my opinion that we can't get back there too quickly. Come over here +and look through the cabin window," he continued, "pointing through +the glass panel to where he had left Max lying bound on the bunk." + +Then the look of amusement vanished from the boy's face, and he opened +the door and passed quickly into the cabin. Max was nowhere to be +seen. He had disappeared as completely as if the hull of the _Rambler_ +had opened and dropped him into the stream. The ropes with which he +had been tied lay on the floor, but the boy was gone. + +The open window at the rear of the motor boat, told the story. In +answer to Fontenelle's looks of inquiry, Case briefly told the story +of Max's visit and capture. The young man pondered a moment and then +said: + +"I don't believe the boys have been captured at all. The chances are +that they are still in the forest, probably looking for the boy who +disappeared last night. + +"This boy Max, if your description tallies with my recollection, has +appeared in the game before to-day. He is a wharf rat at Quebec, and +is being used by these outlaws to further their treacherous ends. I +wish we had found him here." + +As the boys passed out on deck, the barking of a dog came from up the +river. There was no mistaking the voice. It was Captain Joe, and he +was deploring the absence of his floating home. Case smiled happily at +the sound, and then his face grew serious, for gunshots followed the +echo of the dog's voice. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DISCOVERY OF MAX + + +Case hastened to put the _Rambler_ under motion, and, with Fontenelle +and Howard still on board, headed her into the current. At a signal +from Fontenelle, the launch _Cartier_ drew up her anchor and followed. + +To Captain Joe's vicious barking was now added the surly voice of the +bear cub, so the boys knew that the animals were not far away. In +fact, as they paused to investigate the ugly nose of the bulldog was +pushed through the curtain of shrubbery at the edge of the stream, and +Teddy leaped snarling into the water. + +Fontenelle greeted the approach of the animals to the boat with shouts +of laughter. Even in their haste to reach the boat, the animals could +not avoid snapping and striking at each other, playfully. No more +shots were heard, but presently a great tramping in the undergrowth +came at the point where Joe and Teddy had made their appearance, +indicating human presence there. All on board the _Rambler_ anxiously +awaited the appearance of those who were struggling in the jungle. + +"Would the menagerie run away and leave the boys in captivity?" asked +Fontenelle, as the bulldog and the bear cub were assisted, streaming, +to the deck. "They seem to have had a long run." + +"Indeed, they would not," replied Case. "If Clay and the others were +tied up in the woods, Captain Joe and Teddy would be there with them. +No, it is my opinion that it is Alex making all that racket in the +brush. He's a noisy little chap, and particularly troublesome when +hungry." + +The next moment proved Case's reasoning to be correct, for the +undergrowth parted again and the three boys appeared on the bank. + +"Ship ahoy!" Alex shouted, wrinkling his freckled nose. "Do you want +to take on passengers?" + +"I hope," Case called back, "that you fellows haven't gone and lost +the rowboat. And where is the two-foot fish you were going to bring +for breakfast? I don't see it anywhere." + +"Well," Jule called out, as the _Rambler_ edged toward the bank, "if +we have lost a boat, you seem to have found one." + +"What do you mean by that?" asked Case. + +Jule pointed, and Case went to the gunwale of the _Rambler_ and looked +down upon the fragile canoe in which Max had paddled up the river. + +"I didn't know that we were towing it," he said, "but its presence +here accounts for Max getting away without being seen or heard. He +never stopped to get his boat, and may be swimming under water yet, +for all I know. I hope he's clear down at the bottom." + +"No danger of one of those wharf rats getting drowned," Fontenelle +laughed. "I have seen them remain under water for what seemed to me to +be five minutes, and Max is some riverside boy." + +"Shoot the canoe over," cried Clay, "and we'll come aboard." + +"Where's your boat?" demanded Case. + +"Well, you see," explained Clay, "when we missed the _Rambler_, we +started for the St. Lawrence by the water route, but when ruffians on +the bank began shooting, we tied up the boat and took to the thicket." + +Case released the line and sent the light canoe spinning over the +surface of the river. Clay caught the rope deftly and one by one the +boys paddled over to the motor boat. Alex threw himself down on the +deck and gazed imploringly up at Case. + +"I expected," he said whimsically, "that you'd welcome me on the bank +of the river with a pie!" + +"The next time you get us into trouble," Case laughed, "I'll meet you +on the bank of the river with a club." + +The three boys were presented to Fontenelle and Howard and then +preparations for breakfast were begun. + +"Alex got taken prisoner up in the woods," Jule grinned. "We cut him +loose and tied up the cook. We were thinking of getting breakfast +there, but we preferred fish and pancakes to lead and gunpowder, so we +made a run for the boat." + +"Is the cook tied up yet?" asked Case. + +"I reckon they cut him loose in about ten minutes," Alex replied, "for +they seemed to be about three steps behind us all the way to the +river, but they didn't catch us." + +"Do you think we would better go back after the rowboat?" Case asked, +as the boys sat down to a breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, beans +and hot coffee. "We ought not to loose it." + +"Look here," Jule said. "We've been sowing rowboats over the world for +a year or two. We lost two on the Amazon, one on the Columbia, two on +the Colorado and had three smashed on the Mississippi. Now, I think +we'd better go back and get this boat." + +"All right," Alex grinned. "You go on back and get it." + +"Well, don't you ever think I can't," Jule replied. "I can sneak up +there and swipe that boat from under their noses. But you needn't +think I'm going to set out as long as there is anything here to eat." + +While the boys took breakfast, the situation as explained to Case by +Fontenelle was described to them, and after a time Case beckoned Clay +away to a corner of the cabin and asked him a question over which he +had been puzzling ever since the arrival of Fontenelle. + +"Now you understand the situation," Case said, "and I want you to +answer this question right off the handle. I've decided it half a +dozen ways, but I have been fortunate enough so far to keep my mouth +shut." + +"What is the question?" asked Clay. + +"Wait," Case said. "I'll make a little explanation first. These +Fontenelle people have only the legend of the lost channel and the +loss of the charter and the family jewels in this section. They +haven't a single clew which tells them to look in any special spot +first. + +"So far as I can make out, young Fontenelle and his friends come down +here every summer, in answer to the demands of the elder Fontenelle, +for a sort of a vacation. So far as I can make out, they have never +honestly searched for the lost channel. In fact, the young man has +doubts of its existence. Now, what I want to know is this." + +"Why didn't you say so before?" asked Clay with a smile. "I know what +your question is. You want to know if we ought to show Fontenelle the +map which was brought to the _Rambler_ so mysteriously." + +"Aw, of course, you could guess it after I had stated the case fully," +Case declared. "But you haven't told me what you think about it. Ought +we to give Fontenelle the map?" + +"Well," Clay answered, cautiously, "the map doesn't belong to us. It +wasn't intended for us. It was handed to us by a man who evidently +believed that he was turning it over to Fontenelle." + +"Yes," Case said, "it does look as if the map belongs to Fontenelle, +but look here! He doesn't believe in this search. It is my idea that +he doesn't even care whether he secures the lost property or not. He +won't consider the matter seriously if we give it to him. He'll just +laugh and poke it away among a lot of old papers and that will be the +end of it." + +"You are undoubtedly right," Clay answered. + +"Now," Case went on, "we've had enough trouble with these outlaws to +arouse my fighting blood. Besides, I'd like to have a look at that +lost channel. Lost channels appeal to me, you know! I'd give a lot to +find it. Why not keep the map and go on with the search?" + +"But the other fellows would be searching, too, and the whole event +would deteriorate into a big summer outing," Clay insisted. + +"All right, then," Case suggested. "Suppose we go on up the river to +Quebec, and Montreal, and the Thousand Islands, and then come back +after these fellows have gone home, and find that channel." + +"That listens pretty good to me," Clay answered. "I am willing to go +on at once if it is a sure thing that we come back, but I don't want +to sneak away from these fellows after they have started the fight." + +"That shows courage, all right enough," Case added, "but I'd rather +hunt for this lost channel with these toughs on the wharf at Quebec, +and," he added, more seriously, "that's where I think they'll be by +the time we get back here. They won't stay here long after Fontenelle +goes away." + +"Very well," Clay replied, "if Jule and Alex are willing, we'll be on +our way this afternoon." + +This understanding having been reached, the two boys went back to +their guests, while Jule went ashore in the canoe. + +"Now, watch the little rat," Alex laughed. "He'll tie that boat up and +blunder through the briers, when he might paddle up the stream close +to the bank without taking any chances." + +But Jule did nothing of the kind. He kept on up the stream in the +canoe. Presently he rounded a bend and disappeared from sight. + +In a short time Fontenelle and his friend left the _Rambler_ with the +understanding that the two crews were to meet in the evening if the +boys did not sail away in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, as the +reader already knows, the boys had decided to leave before the parting +took place, but they did not care to be urged to remain and join in +the summer vacation picnic which was sure to follow. + +They had started out for a trip covering the whole length of the St. +Lawrence river from the Gulf to Lake Ontario, and were determined to +cover the course before shipping their boat back to Chicago. + +In less than an hour Jule was back with the rowboat, having seen +nothing of the outlaws. + +"They probably thought the whole Canadian navy was coming after them," +Alex said, pointing from the _Rambler_ to the _Cartier_ and back +again. "Looks like we were coming out in force." + +In the middle of the afternoon the boys notified Fontenelle of their +intention to proceed on their journey, and the _Rambler_ passed on up +the St. Lawrence. + +It was a golden day in summer, the waters sparkled and danced in the +sunlight, and the shipping passing to and fro on the river made a +pleasant picture of marine life. The boys enjoyed the situation +thoroughly. + +"I have always had a longing to visit Quebec," Clay said as the boat +headed for a little cove to avoid the wash of a giant steamer, "and I +propose that we spend two or three days there looking over things." + +"That suits me," Alex cut in. "When we get there, I'll go down on the +docks and find that boy Max. And when I find him, there'll be one +wharf rat less on the docks." + +"You better keep away from the docks," warned Case. "You'd get lost on +South Clark street between any two blocks you could name." + +"Well, I always find myself again," Alex declared. + +"Yes, you do," Case jeered. "The last time you got lost, it took two +boys and a bear and a bulldog to find you. And I don't think you are +worth the trouble at that!" + +The boys immediately had a friendly struggle on the deck, in which +Teddy and Captain Joe promptly mixed. + +That night the boys arranged for another campfire on the north bank of +the St. Lawrence. They put up their hammocks, anchored the boat close +inshore, and prepared for a long sleep. + +"If there isn't any lost channels or charters from French kings or +strayed family jewels hiding about here," Jule commented, "we'll +certainly enjoy ourselves in this camp." + +Nothing came to disturb them during the night. They watched the +procession of craft of all descriptions on the river until nine +o'clock, then went to sleep with a danger signal swinging from the +prow of the _Rambler_. They were early astir in the morning and on +their way upstream. + +There was no need of haste, yet the boys seemed to enjoy themselves +most when the boat was in motion, so they plowed slowly up the river +until night, enjoying the wild scenery and stopping now and then at a +little settlement. That was the first of many days of uninterrupted +pleasure on the most extensive water system of the North American +continent. + +On the second night, they made another camp with only Captain Joe and +Teddy standing guard. Alex was out after fish early in the morning, +and at six o'clock he served one of his long-wished for fish a la +Indian breakfasts. + +Just before nightfall, they came within sight of Quebec and moored at +a pier a short distance down the river. + +"Now," laughed Case, "if any treasure seekers or outlaws or river +pirates appear to us during the night, we'll call the police. We've +had trouble enough for one trip." + +"I'm going to sleep ten hours every night until we get to the Thousand +Islands," declared Jule. "I'm hungry and sleepy most of the time." + +"And we'll come back down the rapids, won't we?" asked Alex. + +"You bet we will," replied Clay. "We'll come down like a shot." + +"We'll need to," Jule suggested, "because we'll lose time in the canal +going up." + +There was no open campfire or swinging hammocks for the boys that +night. The city of Quebec twinkled its myriad lights from plateau and +cliff, and the boys were not sure of whom they might meet during the +dark hours. They cooked their supper early in order to make an evening +trip in the lower part of the city. + +"I wonder," Case said, as, leaving Jule and Clay on board, he started +away with Alex, "what the man who delivered the map to us is thinking +about concerning his mistake now. He might have been paid to deliver +that document to Fontenelle, and the error may make him trouble." + +"And I was just thinking," Alex put in, "what the fellows who +delivered the warning to us are thinking concerning themselves. They +wasted a lot of ammunition and lost a good many hours' sleep on our +account." + +"Perhaps we'll find out all about it when we go back to find the lost +channel," Case suggested. "Do you know," he added, "I'm looking +forward to that lost channel stunt with a good deal of enthusiasm." + +"Do you really think there's a lost channel there?" asked Alex. + +"There is something in it," Case asserted. "Men don't draw maps +entirely on imagination." + +"Then why don't the men who drew the map go and tell Fontenelle all +about it?" + +"He tried to tell him all about it when he delivered the map to us, +but as you know, the map reached the wrong hands." + +The boys walked the streets, comparing them unfavorably with those of +Chicago, until nearly ten o'clock and then turned to go to the boat. +When they came to the river front again, Alex stopped suddenly and +caught Case by the arm. + +"Look there," he whispered, "What do you know about that?" + +"About what?" asked Case, puzzled. + +"Don't you see him down there at the head of the pier?" asked Alex, +nodding his head in that direction. + +"I guess you're the boy that's got loose packing in his head +to-night," laughed Case. "What do you see?" + +"What do I see?" repeated Alex. "That's Max, the wharf rat, the cable +cutter, the motor destroyer. Shall we go and get him?" + +"Go and get him?" repeated Case. "He'd have a flock of wharf rats +around us in about two minutes." + +"Well," Alex insisted, "we'd better stay here and see where he goes, +anyway. If we can locate the fellow now, we can go after him any +time." + +"Then I guess we can go after him any time," Case chuckled, "because +he's heading for that eating house with the tin fish sign in front of +it." + +"Then here we go for the tin fish," Alex declared, and in five +minutes, they were seated at a little table in an alcove separated +only by a heavy cloth curtain from the main room of a third-rate +French restaurant. + +When a waiter appeared they gave their orders and sat watching the +main room through the folds of the curtain. + +"There!" Alex finally said in a whisper. "He's coming in." + +"Yes," grunted Case, "and he's got a dozen wharf rats with him. I +guess they've got us in as neat a trap as one boy ever set for +another!" + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A BUSY NIGHT IN QUEBEC + + +"I don't understand," Alex said, peering through the curtain, "why he +should want to do anything to us. Perhaps he won't notice us at all." + +"Don't you ever think he won't," grinned Case. "Didn't I truss him up +like a hen in the cabin and threaten to arrest him, and didn't he +declare that he would shoot me if he ever got a chance? Don't you +believe he'll let us get out of here without trouble!" + +"Oh, well," Alex replied, "if he starts anything we'll get out all +right in spite of him, and in spite of his wharf rats." + +"I've got an idea," Case said, watching the collection of +roughly-dressed boys sitting about a table in the other room, "that +that kid has been waiting in Quebec for us." + +"What shall we do, then," Alex asked still in a whisper. "Shall we +make a break and get out right now?" + +"We may as well wait and see what takes place," Case answered. "This +is a pretty tough joint, I guess, and some one may start something. In +that case, we can get out while they are beating each other up." + +The lunches ordered were now brought by the waiter, and the boys fell +to, although, as may well be imagined, without much appetite. Max sat +with his face turned toward the curtain, evidently trying to discover +whether his enemies were using the alcove. He had seen the boys enter +the restaurant, but was not quite certain as to which room they had +seated themselves in. His face was watchful and vicious. + +Half an hour passed and the situation did not change, then Alex +plucked Case by the sleeve, motioning toward the outer door. + +"We may as well move," he said. "It is getting late, and the streets +are now growing more unsafe every minute because of such night +prowlers as you see out there. It we've got to fight, we may as well +begin." + +But it was not necessary for them to start the engagement, as Max came +to the alcove directly and drew the curtain roughly aside. The boys +remained in their seats, grinning up at him, but their hands under the +cover of the table grasped their automatics. + +"Hello!" Alex said presently. "We never expected to meet you here." + +"Oh, I had an idea you'd be along," Max said with an ugly frown. + +"Come on in and set down," Case urged with a chuckle. "I'd like to +have you tell me why you disappeared so suddenly." + +"That's a nice question to ask!" Max snarled. "You tie me up like a +pig in the cabin and then wonder why I get out of your clutches!" + +"You had a little swim for it, didn't you?" asked Case. + +"Yes," was the reply, "and I'll make you sweat for every drop of water +I swallowed during that long dive. I'll show you a thing or two!" + +"What was there in that job for you, anyway?" asked Alex. "We've got a +new manila cable charged up to you." + +"Mark the bill down on ice," snorted Max, "and lay the ice on the +stove. You did me dirt there and I'm going to get even!" + +"Go as far as you like," said Case. "We are here to answer all +questions." + +Max, who had been standing in the entrance to the alcove, with the +curtain half over his shoulder, now turned and beckoned to the +rough-looking boys gathered about the table he had just left. + +"Friends of yours?" asked Alex as the others gathered about the +alcove. "They look as if they might be." + +The boys outside now began jostling each other roughly, as if +preparing to start a fake fight among themselves. That, as Alex and +Case well knew, is an old, old trick in the underworld. Whenever an +enemy is to be attacked, it is common practice for the assailants to +start a fight among themselves, being certain that their enemies are +dealt most of the blows. Many an apparently innocent bystander has +been murdered in that way. + +The proprietor of the place came rushing out of an inner room as the +toughs hustled each other back and forth and timidly remonstrated with +them. It was evident that he stood in fear of the gang. The boys saw +that no help might be expected from him. + +At last one of the toughs received a blow which, apparently, forced +him inside the alcove, then the whole crowd rushed in, swarming over +Alex and Case like the wharf rats they were. The boys drew their +revolvers, but did not fire. Instead they sprang to the top of the +table and used the handles of their weapons to good purpose. + +In the meantime the proprietor was running back and forth from the +alcove to the door and from the door to the alcove, urging the boys to +act "like little gentlemen," and at the same time shouting for the +police. But no officers made their appearance. + +The weight of humanity on the table upon which the boys were standing +now brought it down with a crash to the floor. The situation was +becoming serious, and the boys were preparing to use their guns when +an unexpected event occurred. + +The night being warm, the street door was wide open, but a little +crowd had gathered about it. Disturbances were frequent in that place, +however, and none of the onlookers seemed inclined to interfere. + +As they stood looking, a heavy body catapulted against their +shoulders, and the next moment the heavy body of a white bulldog +leaped over their heads into the room. + +The toughs in the alcove, who had just settled down to a steady +pommeling of the boys with their bare fists, turned for an instant as +sharp claws clattered over the floor, and some of them stepped aside. +Then Captain Joe leaped atop of the struggling mass and began a +vigorous exercise of his very capable teeth. + +In a second the whole place was in confusion. Patrons rushed out from +other rooms, the proprietor appeared from behind the desk bearing a +revolver. There was an inrush from the street, and then two pistol +shots sounded. As the acrid smell of powder smoke seeped into the air, +there was a rattle of glass and the two ceiling lights were +extinguished. + +Save for the uncertain light from incandescents in the other alcoves, +the place was now in darkness, except for the illumination which came +in from the street. + +Cries, shouts and epithets of the vilest character rang through the +place. Long before the light of the gas jets could be turned on, the +boys and the dog were out on the pavement, making good progress toward +a policeman in uniform, who appeared under an arc light not far away. +The officer held up his heavy night stick as the boys approached him. + +The sound of running feet came out and in a moment the officer and the +two boys were surrounded by the wharf rats who had been in the +restaurant. The officer promptly drew a revolver. + +"What's doing here!" he demanded. "Who did that shooting back there?" + +"These two boys did it!" Max promptly explained, pointing at Alex and +Case. "They shot out the lights and robbed the till!" + +The officer put up his revolver and his night stick, seized Alex and +Case by the shoulders, and started off up the street, the toughs +following at his heels. There was a patrol box on the next corner and +the boys attempted no defence of their conduct until this was reached. +As the policeman turned the key he glanced quickly from one face to +the other. + +"What have you boys got to say for yourselves?" he asked. + +"We'll tell that to the judge," replied Alex. + +"Come, now, don't get gay!" the officer said. "You don't look like +boys who would be apt to get into a scrape like that." + +The boys were so pleased at having escaped from the restaurant with +whole heads that they did not much mind the arrest. In fact, just at +that moment the officer was about the most welcome person who could +have made his appearance, with the exception of Captain Joe, of +course. + +The dog now stood close by the patrol box showing his teeth and asking +Alex for permission to take the officer by the leg. + +"We haven't robbed any tills lately!" Alex said, wrinkling his +freckled nose at the officer. + +"Lookout!" one of the boys shouted from the crowd. "That bulldog will +get you, officer. He chewed up two boys back in the restaurant. + +"Good old Captain Joe," exclaimed Alex, patting the dog on the head. + +The dog did not for a moment lose sight of a spot on the officer's +thigh, which seemed to invite attack. + +"Is that your dog?" asked the policeman. + +"Sure, that's our dog," answered Alex. + +"And what did you say his name was?" + +"Captain Joe." + +The officer released his hold on the boys and leaned against the +patrol box. The police wagon was now in sight, racing down the street +with a great jangling of bells, and the crowd around the officer began +to thin. They had evidently seen that wagon before. + +"Say, Mr. Officer," Alex said, "why don't you grab a couple of those +boys? They are going to be witnesses against us, you know." + +The officer made no reply, but reached down and patted Captain Joe on +the head, an action which the dog strongly resented. + +"Did you say the dog ate a couple of wharf rats back there?" asked the +officer, turning to the diminishing crowd. + +"You bet he did!" half a dozen voices cried in chorus. "He's a holy +terror." + +"I've got a hole in my leg you could push a chair through," one of +them shouted. "Arrest him!" + +The police wagon now backed up to the curb and the boys stepped inside +followed by Captain Joe. + +"Here!" questioned the man in charge of the wagon, "are you going in +with us, off your beat, and are you going to arrest the dog? He looks +like a hard citizen!" + +"Not a bit of it!" answered the officer. "He chewed up two wharf rats +back there, according to all accounts, and I'm going in to tell the +sergeant, and to ask the captain to give him a medal. If he had only +killed them, I'd try to get him on the pension list." + +"Say," Case remarked, "you seem to be an all-right policeman. I guess +you know that bunch back there." + +"Every officer in the city knows that bunch," replied the policeman. +"When they're not in the penitentiary, they're making trouble for the +force. They ought to get a hundred years apiece." + +"What will we get for shooting out the lights?" asked Alex. + +"So you did shoot out the lights!" + +"We didn't do anything else," declared Alex. + +"Say, Mr. Cop, you've seen terriers go after a rat in a pit, haven't +you?" asked Case. "Well, that's just the way that gang went after us. +We'd be dead now if Captain Joe hadn't run away from the _Rambler_ and +followed us." + +"There!" cried the officer clapping Alex on the back, "I've been +trying to think of that name ever since I saw the dog. We've got +pictures of this dog and the _Rambler_ and a grizzly bear called Teddy +pasted up in the squad room. We cut them out of newspapers six months +ago when you boys were somewhere out on the Columbia river." + +"On the Colorado river," corrected Case. "We found Teddy Bear in a a +timber wreck on the Columbia, and he never had his picture taken until +we got to San Francisco." + +"Is the _Rambler_ down on the river now?" asked the officer, and Case +nodded. "Because, if it is," the policeman went on, "some one had +better be getting down there! The wharf rats will eat it up before +morning, plank by plank!" + +"How are we going to get down there if you lock us up?" asked Case. + +"You may not be locked up," was the reply. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MENAGERIE IN ACTION + + +After the departure of Alex and Case from the _Rambler_, Clay and Jule +drew out the two mysterious messages they had received and studied +them over carefully. + +"What do you think about this lost channel proposition?" asked Jule. + +"If a channel ever went through the neck of land as shown by the map, +that section must have been visited by an earthquake," Clay laughed. +"There isn't a sign of a channel there. Instead, there's a great high +ledge of rock crossing the peninsula, just where the line shows the +channel ought to be. It is my private opinion that no water ever +crossed that peninsula. There must be some mistake in location." + +"The men who made the map might have drawn the line indicating the +channel in the wrong place," Jule suggested. + +"Well," Clay concluded, "we'll have a look at it when we go back, but +what I can't understand is why the map should have been given to the +wrong party. If a man had such a map in any way accurate, he would +have presented it to Fontenelle in person and demanded a stiff price +for it." + +"It looks that way to me!" Jule agreed. + +There was a volume in the cabin of the _Rambler_ descriptive of the +St. Lawrence river from the gulf to Lake Ontario. This the boys +brought out and studied diligently until a late hour. + +At last Clay arose, yawned, and looked at his watch. + +"I wonder why Alex and Case don't return!" he asked. "It can't be +possible that that little scamp has gone and lost himself again, can +it?" + +"Just like him!" snickered Jule. "If I had a dollar for every time +he's been lost I'd have all the money I will ever need." + +"That's pretty near the truth!" Clay agreed. "However, we've got +Captain Joe and Teddy left with us to help look him up." + +He leaned back in his chair and whistled to the dog, but no Captain +Joe made his appearance. Teddy came shambling into the cabin and held +out a paw, suggesting sugar. Clay glanced up at Jule with puzzled +eyes. + +"Isn't the dog out on deck?" he asked. + +The boy hastened out and returned in a moment with the information +that the bulldog was nowhere in sight. + +"Have you seen him since Alex and Case left?" Clay asked. + +"He was here quite a spell after they went away, but he didn't seem +contented. All the time I was on deck he was walking back and forth +looking longingly over into the city." + +"Then he's followed the boys," Clay agreed. "We won't see him again +until they return. The only wonder is that Teddy didn't go with him." + +"We'll have to get steel cages made for our menagerie," Jule proposed. +"We can't keep a single member of our happy family on the boat when +Alex is away. No one else seems to count with them." + +The boys were not inclined to sleep, so they sat watchfully in the +cabin with the electricity off. Spears of light came from warehouse +offices on the pier, and far up the street a great arc light made the +thoroughfare almost plain to the eye as day. The roar of night traffic +in the city and the wash of the river drowned all individual sounds, +and the boys sat in what amounted to silence so far as any noises +directly on the boat were concerned. + +Somewhere along toward midnight, when they had about given up hope of +the immediate return of the boys, there came a quick jar, and the boat +swayed as if under the foot of a person mounting the deck. + +"There they are, I reckon!" Jule shouted, passing to the cabin door +which was open to admit the cool breeze of the night. + +Clay stepped forward, too, but paused in a moment and drew Alex back. +A crouching figure was now discernible on the prow, and Clay reached +for the switch which controlled the lamp there. + +With his hand almost to the switch Clay stopped and turned back to +where Jule stood, searching his bunk for an automatic which had been +placed there. Then the boat swayed again, and there were three figures +on the deck instead of one. The light from the street showed only bare +outlines. The whole scene was uncanny. + +"I don't know what to make of this," Clay whispered. "Shall we turn on +the light, or shall we begin shooting right now?" + +"If we turn on the light," Jule whispered back, "they'll see us. At +present, they undoubtedly believe the boat to be deserted." + +"I think they'll run if we turn on the lights," Clay suggested, +softly. "They're probably river thieves looking for plunder." + +The men on the deck now grouped together, evidently whispering, and +trying to decide upon some course of action. In the faint light, they +seemed to be hulking, heavily-built men, and the boys were not anxious +to come into close contact with them. + +"It may be just as well," Clay finally decided, "to remain quiet for a +short time and see what they intend to do." + +"That's easy," Jule whispered, "they intend to steal the boat." + +"A good many other people have tried to steal this boat," Clay +responded, "but we still seem to be in possession of it!" + +After standing for a minute or two near the prow, the intruders moved +stealthily toward the cabin. The door was open, but all was dark +inside. As they slouched forward, their footsteps made no sound upon +the deck. + +"Shall we shoot to kill?" whispered Jule. "I'm tired of having the +scum of the earth always attempting to rob us." + +"I'd never get over it if I should kill some one," Clay replied. "We'd +better frighten them away and see that no more get on board to-night." + +As he spoke, the boy reached for the switch and turned it. Greatly to +his amazement, the prow lamp remained dark. In some strange manner the +intruders had disconnected the wires or broken the globe. The click of +the switch seemed to have reached their ears, informing them that some +one was on board. + +They rushed toward the cabin and came solidly against the door which +was quickly shut, almost in their faces. The lock rattled sharply +under the assault of a muscular hand, and the whole front of the cabin +quivered and creaked under the weight of a burly body. + +"Open up here!" shouted a gruff voice. "Open up, or we'll break the +door down. We knew you were here all the time!" + +"This begins to look serious," whispered Clay. "We may have to shoot." + +"Say the word," Jule suggested, "and I'll make the front of the cabin +look like a sieve, and every bullet will count, too." + +"I'd like to aid in the capture of a couple of those fellows," Clay +said, "and I wonder if one of us couldn't get out of the rear window, +jump over on the pier, and call the police. Such ruffians ought not to +be at liberty." + +"All right," Jule whispered. "You go, and I'll stay here and talk to +them until you get out. I can keep them amused all right." + +While this short conversation had been in progress the pounding at the +door had continued, and now something heavy, like a timber or a very +heavy foot, came banging against the panels. + +"Just a minute more," one of the midnight prowlers shouted, "and we'll +break this door down and get you boys good!" + +Clay moved to the rear of the cabin, drew in the swinging sash, and +stepped lightly out on the after deck. The lights along the river +front were fewer now, and the windows of the warehouses, illuminated +an hour before, were dark. A roaring wind was blowing up the river, +and the wash of the waves was rocking the _Rambler_ unpleasantly. + +In all the long street in sight from the pier there was no sign of a +uniformed officer. Clay did not know how far he would have to run to +find one, so he decided to remain where he was for a time and, if +necessary, perhaps attack the intruders from the rear. + +Crouching low on the after deck, he could hear Jule talking to the +outlaws, and smiled as he listened to the boy's attempts to interest +them. + +"If you break down that door," he heard Jule say, "you'll have to pay +for it! That door cost money." + +A volley of oaths and river billingsgate followed the remark, and +blows which fairly shook the cabin came upon the sturdy panels. + +While Clay sat listening, half resolved to make his way over to the +pier and fire a few shots over the heads of the ruffians, a figure +dropped lightly on the deck at his side and Teddy's soft muzzle was +pressed against his face. He stroked the bear gently. + +"I don't blame you for getting out of there, Teddy," he said. "They'll +wreck the boat if we don't do something pretty soon. What would you +advise, old chap?" he added whimsically. + +Teddy sniffed the air in the direction of the pier and clambered +clumsily up to the top of the cabin. + +"I wouldn't go up there if I were you," Clay advised. + +Teddy continued his way over the roof and finally came to the forward +edge. Clay raised his head to the level of the roof and watched him. +As he did so a round circle of light sprang up at the head of the +pier, flashed toward the river for a moment, and died out. The next +moment a sound of some one stumbling over a bale of goods reached his +ears. Then the light flashed out again, and the pounding on the cabin +door ceased. + +"Now I wonder," Clay pondered, "if that isn't Alex and Case! They +usually have their searchlights with them, and Case is always +stumbling over something. It would be fine to have them appear now!" + +Directly a finger of light shot down the pier, and under it a white +body swung toward the boat. Clay crawled back through the window and +approached the door, where Jule was still standing with his automatic +in his hand. + +The pounding had now ceased entirely, the men evidently having been +warned by the light. It seemed to Clay that the unwelcome visitors +were now crouching in the darkness ready to attack any one who might +attempt to come on board. + +"Just wait a minute," whispered Clay in Jule's ear. "Just you wait a +minute, and there'll be something pulled off here! If I'm not +mistaken, this drama is going to shift to a comedy in about one +minute." + +"I don't understand what you mean by that," Jule declared. "What new +deviltry are those fellows planning?" he added. + +"In just about a second you'll see," Clay repeated. "The only wonder +is that Captain Joe hasn't pulled off his stunt before this." + +"Captain Joe isn't here," replied Jule doubtfully. + +Then the boat swayed frightfully, tipping toward the pier. There was a +heavy thud on deck, and cries of fright and pain, followed by another +thud. + +"Captain Joe isn't here, eh?" shouted Clay unlocking and opening the +door. "Just look at that mess out there." + +The white bulldog was mixing freely with the intruders, who seemed to +be devoting their best energy to getting off the boat. There was a +struggling, cursing, growling mass in the middle of the deck, and then +from the roof of the cabin leaped another combatant! + +Seeing the dog mixing with the pirates, and evidently believing that +some new game was in progress, the cub leaped fairly into the midst of +the struggling mass! If the men had been frightened before, they were +now wild with terror. It seemed to them as if the bear had dropped +from the clouds. They felt his teeth and claws, and the rough hair of +him appeared to bristle like the quills of a porcupine. + +Frightened beyond all measure, rendered more desperate still by the +onrush of the boys from the cabin, the outlaws finally succeeded in +breaking away and springing to the pier. As they did so, they nearly +fell over Alex and Case who were making all haste to ascertain the +cause of the excitement on the _Rambler_. + +In a moment, however, they were up and away, clattering like +race-horses up the pier. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE CREW TAKES A TUMBLE + + +When Alex and Case reached the deck of the _Rambler_, they found Clay +and Jule leaning against the gunwale laughing hard enough to split +their sides. A searchlight in the latter's hand revealed Captain Joe +and Teddy standing by the cabin door, looking around as if inquiring +what it all meant. + +"Well," Alex said, producing his own searchlight, "if there's anything +funny going on here, you'd better be passing it round." + +"Where have you been?" demanded Clay the next moment. + +"Been?" repeated Alex. "We've been up in the air!" + +"That's no fairy tale, either," Case cut in. "We've been arrested, and +released, and attacked, and pommeled, and now we strike some kind of a +minstrel show. What's been going on?" + +"You've been arrested, have you?" laughed Jule, paying no attention to +the question. "Any old time you go away from this boat and don't get +into trouble, I'll wire the news back to Chicago. What did you get +pinched for, and how did you get away?" + +"We got pinched because of Max," replied Alex, "and we got out of it +because we came upon a white policeman. We escaped from Max's cronies +because Captain Joe butted in and chewed up a few. That's some dog, +that is." + +"And he came back here and helped you out, too, it seems," Case said. +"I should think he was some dog!" + +"And Teddy helped, too," Clay laughed. "We had a show here for a +little while that was worth the price of admission." + +"It didn't look funny to me," Jule protested. "I was scared stiff most +of the time." + +After Alex and Case had replaced a broken globe on the prow light, +told the story of their adventures, and explained that the chief of +police had requested the privilege of looking over the boat in the +morning, the boys moved the _Rambler_ to a slip farther down the river +and went to bed, Jule remaining on watch for the remainder of the +night. The day had been a busy one and they were all tired. + +Alex was out first in the morning, poking along the water front in the +canoe which Max had deserted. After a time Clay came out of the cabin +of the _Rambler_ and called to him. + +"Got a fish, Alex?" + +Alex shook his head. + +"The fish won't bite my hook this morning!" he shouted back. + +"Well," Clay returned, "there's a gudgeon up on shore that evidently +wants to get hold of your hook, and you with it." + +Alex turned quickly and looked up the slip at the foot of which the +canoe lay. He was just in time to see Max and another boy about his +size disappearing behind a collection of goods' boxes. + +"Why didn't you shoot him?" Alex called out to Clay. "You saw him +first. He ought to be shot for what he did last night." + +Captain Joe now came out on the deck, yawning and stretching, and +elevated his fore feet to the gunwale of the boat. Clay patted him on +the head and pointed to the goods' boxes behind which Max had +disappeared. + +"Do you think, Captain Joe," he said to the dog, "that you could go +and get a wharf rat this morning? I think there's one behind that pile +of boxes. You better go and see, anyway." + +Of course the dog did not understand all that was said to +him--although the boys sometimes insisted that he did--but he did know +what the pointing finger meant. He was over the gunwale in an instant, +tearing up the side of the slip, barking and growling as he went. + +"You'll get that dog killed yet," Alex called out to Clay. "That wharf +rat of a Max is just like a snake. You don't want to get near him +unless you step squarely on his head." + +Both boys whistled return orders to the dog, but he would not come +back. He seemed to remember that an old enemy was near at hand and +turned the corner of the heap of boxes with a vicious snarl. + +The next moment, Max appeared at the top of the heap, fending off the +dog with a board he had ripped from a box. + +"Call off your dog!" he shouted. "I want to get my canoe. You get out +of it, kid, and leave it tied to the slip." + +"If you live long enough to see me give you this canoe," Alex laughed, +"you'll be older than Noah before you die, and have whiskers forty +feet long." + +"I'll set the police on you!" threatened Max. + +"You tried that last night," grinned Alex. + +"Come on down here," urged Clay. "I'd like to know what kind of a +penitentiary you received your early education in." + +"You'd like to have me come down there, wouldn't you?" sneered Max. +"You think you've got the police on your side, don't you? But I know a +couple of detectives that will fix you, all right. You needn't think +I'm going to let you run away with my canoe." + +"How'd you get up the river so quickly?" asked Clay. "Did you dive in +east of the peninsula and swim under water to Quebec?" + +"Oh, I got up on a steamer, all right," was the reply, "and I've been +here waiting for you ever since." + +"Do you happen to have a sore head this morning?" taunted Alex. "You +must have got a bump or two last night." + +"You'll get two for every one I got," Max shouted, angrily. "Are you +going to give me that canoe? I'm going to have it, you know." + +Alex deliberately paddled the canoe over to the _Rambler_, secured it +with a light line, climbed to the deck, and set the motors in motion. +Max yelled out a few threatening sentences and disappeared. + +"We may as well be going up to the old pier," he said, "for this dandy +chief of police I discovered last night will be down to see us before +long. He's a right good fellow, that chief is." + +"You better hold up a minute," Jule announced, + +"Captain Joe is still behind those boxes. If Max could capture him, +he'd have him in all the dog fights in Quebec." + +But Max was at this time taking to his heels up the street which ran +down to the slip; and Captain Joe soon made his appearance, looking +very much discouraged. He was taken on board, dripping with water, and +Teddy received quite a bath by approaching him too suddenly. The +bulldog enjoyed that. + +The chief of police made his appearance soon after the boys had +partaken of breakfast, and sat down to talk over the events of the +preceding night. + +"This boy, Max," he explained, "is one of the queerest customers we +have anything to do with. He lives in the streets, apparently without +money or friends, and yet he frequently appears at a swell hotel +handsomely dressed and with plenty of money in his pockets. He seems +to have been well educated, as you have probably noticed from his +conversation." + +"He talks like a graduate," admitted Clay. + +"Yes, and he's one of the sharpest little chaps in the city. We are +certain that he has had a hand in several bold robberies, yet it has +up to this time been impossible to convict him. He is usually defended +by first-class criminal lawyers, and his wharf rat companions seem to +be very desirable witnesses for him." + +"Isn't it possible," asked Clay, "that the boy lives along the river +front for some well defined, perhaps criminal, purpose of his own?" + +"I've often thought of that," answered the chief, "for he always takes +great pains to make friends of the creatures of the underworld. Now +and then he disappears from the city for a few days, or weeks, but +always comes back to his old haunts." + +"Of course," Clay said, "you are familiar with the Fontenelle land +claim and the story of the lost charter and the missing family +jewels?" + +"Oh, yes," answered the chief, smiling tolerantly, "every man, woman +and child in Quebec knows all about the Fontenelle case. Old man +Fontenelle is almost a monomaniac on the subject of the lost charter. +He has spent thousands of dollars searching for it and claims that he +would have discovered it long ago only for the active and criminal +opposition of men who might lose heavily if it came again into his +possession." + +"And the story of the lost channel?" asked Clay. + +"There is a queer story of a lost channel," the chief laughed, "but +I'm afraid that it will always be a lost channel." + +"But Fontenelle is continually trying to locate it," suggested Clay. + +"Yes, but he has no more idea where to look for it than a child in a +cradle. There is a place down the river where he thinks it might once +have existed, but he has no clews of any kind." + +"Hasn't even a map?" asked Clay, resolved to know exactly, as far as +possible, what knowledge the Fontenelles had of the lost channel. + +"No, not even a map," answered the chief. "I tell you that the family +has absolutely nothing to go by. Young Fontenelle, who is making most +of the searches now, only goes out to please his father and to give +his friends a pleasant summer vacation." + +And so the crude map which had been so mysteriously delivered to the +boys was an entirely new element in the case! Who had drawn it, who +had connived at its delivery, who had supplied the information buried +in the legends of more than three hundred years! + +Clay puzzled over the matter while the chief chatted with the other +boys, but could reach no conclusion. Again he was tempted to reveal to +an outsider the existence of the map, and again he forced himself to +silence when the words were almost on his lips. + +"I shall be laughed at if I say anything about the map," he mused. +"The chief will tell me that many a joke has been played on the +Fontenelles, and that this was intended to be another. He will tell me +that the _Rambler_ was mistaken for the _Cartier_, and that there is +no mystery, but only fraud, connected with either one of the messages +we received that night." + +"You spoke of the Fontenelle claim in connection with the strange +conduct of this boy Max," the chief finally said to Clay. "Why did you +do that? Can you see any possible connection between the two?" + +Then Clay told of the boy's appearance on the _Rambler_, referring +also to the fact that he had been accompanied, apparently, by men who +sought to seize the _Rambler_ after it had been beached. + +"And Fontenelle claims that these men were not river pirates at all," +Clay went on, "but says they are ruffians sent out to prevent his +making a thorough search of the district where his father believes the +lost channel to have been. In that case, this boy Max might in some +way be connected with the enemies of the Fontenelles." + +"That is very true," answered the chief, "and I'll keep my eye on him +after this, although I don't take much stock in this lost charter +business, at all." + +After a pleasant hour the chief shook hands with the boys and +departed. Then the _Rambler_ was headed upstream again. The boys had +had enough of Quebec during that one night. + +Thirty miles or more up the St. Lawrence from Quebec, the Jacques +Cartier river enters the St. Lawrence from the north. The boys sighted +the mouth of the stream just before twelve o'clock. At the same moment +they saw a river steamer coming down toward them. The steamer was +large for one plying above Quebec, and, fearing that the wash from her +propeller would make trouble for the _Rambler_, they edged over to the +mouth of the entering stream, in front of which lay a great, partly +submerged sand bar. + +The steamer came down, whistling and ringing, and the boys signaled +for her to pass off to the right. Apparently scornful of so small a +craft, the pilot kept her headed directly down stream in a course +which would have brought about a collision with the motor boat. + +The boys swung away toward the sand bar, trusting to good luck to keep +them clear of it. + +Just as she came opposite the bar, the helmsman of the steamer did +what he should have done before, turned the prow sharply to the south. +A wall of water from the stern of the boat came sweeping down upon the +_Rambler_. + +It caught her broadside, and in an instant she was beached high and +dry on the bar, lying with her keel exposed and the furniture and +fixtures in the cabin and store rooms rattling about like hailstones +in a blizzard. + +Tumbling heels over head, catching at the gunwale, scrambling away so +as to be beyond reach of the boat if she should go over farther, the +four boys, the bulldog and the bear brought up on the hot, dry sand. + +Alex sat up, brushed the sand from his eyes, felt tenderly of a peeled +nose, and shook his fist at the departing steamer. + +"You might come back here and pull us off," he shouted. + +The people on the steamer gathered at the rail for a moment to laugh +and joke at the plight in which they had left the boys, and then +evidently forgot all about it. + +"Now, what do you think of that?" cried Jule. "We're thrown out of +water for the first time in the history of the _Rambler_. Do you +suppose she's busted up much, Clay?" + +"Aw, you couldn't bust her up with a cannon," shouted Alex. "We've +probably lost some provisions, but this river will feed us all right." + +As for Teddy and Captain Joe, they turned astonished eyes at the boat +which they had never seen in exactly that position before and started +to clamber back on board. Teddy shambled clumsily up on deck, but +Captain Joe, evidently changing his mind, returned to the hot sand and +lay down. + +In a moment a great crash came from on board the motor boat. Then +Teddy came rolling down the incline of the deck hugging close to his +breast with two capable paws, and taking many a bump in order that he +might save his burden, a two quart can of strained honey. + +"That stream," Alex said, "will be just about large enough to clean up +the bear after he has finished with that stolen honey." + +"That ain't no stream," said Jule, "That's the lost channel." + +Teddy ran away to a distant part of the bar to eat his honey in peace, +and the boys ruefully watched the river in hope of rescue. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +RIVERMEN WITH A THIRST + + +"A lost channel and a lost boat! Still if we didn't have adventures +just like this, we'd be contented to remain on the South Branch in +Chicago," said Case. "It wouldn't have been any fun if we had passed +up the St. Lawrence without getting dumped on the sand." + +"Say, kid," Jule said, pointing to Alex, "do you think you can swim +over to the shore?" + +"Swim over yourself!" advised Alex. "What do you want me to swim over +for?" + +"To get timber to block up this boat so you can cook dinner," laughed +Jule. "We can't live on the sand which is here--that's a pun, eh?" + +"What have we got for dinner?" Clay asked, ignoring the pun. "Perhaps +I'd better go aboard and look over our larder." + +"If you want to know where I'm going to get my dinner," Alex observed, +"just look down into the river. Those fish look pretty good to me, and +I'm hungry enough to eat a whale." + +"If the time ever comes when you're not hungry," Case cut in, "the sun +will rise in the west. You're empty to your heels." + +"And I'm glad of it, too," Alex shouted back. "But what I want to +know," he continued, "is how we're ever going to get off this bar." + +"If we stay right here," Case advised, "some boat will come along and +pull us off. You don't have to do anything unless you want to." + +But at that moment there were no boats in sight. Instead, a great raft +of hewn timbers with a rough shanty in the middle of it came drifting +down. Half a dozen river men ran to the edge of the float and eyed the +_Rambler_ keenly. They seemed amused at what had happened. + +"Ship ahoy!" one of them called. + +"Give us a rope," Jule shouted. + +"Got anything on board?" the man called back. + +"What do you mean by anything?" Jule asked. + +"Oh, anything under a cork!" answered the other. + +"Row over here with a couple of cases and we'll pay you for them," +said another voice. + +"What do you take this for, a floating saloon?" asked Alex. + +"That's what!" came back over the water. "If you don't send over +something, we'll come and get it." + +"Now that's a nice proposition," Case said to Clay. "Here we get +turned almost bottom-side up on a sand bar, and a lot of wops think +we're bartenders and have whiskey to sell." + +"We ought not to let them on the bar at all," Alex advised. "If they +get here and can't find what they want, they're liable to take +anything they can get their hands on. I'm for pulling out the guns and +spattering a little lead over the water." + +"Are you going to send it over?" called the man from the raft. + +"Go take a drink out of the river!" advised Jule. + +"I'll show you whether we will or not!" + +All this time the raft had been drifting down stream, and the +_Rambler_ had, of course, remained stationary. As the man uttered this +implied threat, he cast off the line of a boat, motioned to two men +who stood near, and the three entered and began rowing toward the sand +bar. + +"We'll overtake you in a half an hour," the man who had done most of +the talking from the raft called out to his companions, "and we'll +bring back something cheering if it is to be had on that boat." + +"About the only thing you'll get on this boat," Case shouted, "will be +bullets. If you don't sheer away, you'll get a volley right now." + +The men stopped rowing and backed water as the boys drew their +automatics and stood in a row at the edge of the bar. + +"Aw, come on kids, give us a couple of cases and we'll go on our way. +We're going to get it anyhow." + +"There isn't a drop of intoxicating liquor on board," Clay assured the +man. "This is not a bumboat. We're just boys out on a pleasure trip." + +"That's what they all say!" roared a husky brute from the fast +disappearing raft. "Go on, Steve, and get the goods." + +"You bet I will!" answered the raftsman, and again the men bent to +their oars. Clay fired a warning shot and the boat paused again for a +moment. + +"Will you send us a case?" shouted the leader of the boat party. + +"Send you a case of cartridges!" laughed Alex. + +Two of the men now turned to the oars in order to keep the boat from +drifting farther down, while the leader sat close to their seat, +saying something to them in a low tone. The two oarsmen were shaking +their heads, but the other was beating one hand against the other +vigorously. + +"I know," the boys heard him say, raising his voice as he became +excited "that that is the same boat, and that these are the same boys. +You remember what I told you when I came up the river on a fast boat +and hired out on the raft!" + +The boys could not hear the reply, but presently the leader's voice +sounded again above the wash of the river. He was evidently under +great excitement, and was speaking rapidly and vehemently. + +"There is more value in that motor boat," he said, "than there is in +the whole raft. What does it matter if the timber does float down +without us? We've got a boat and can put up any old yarn that comes to +mind." + +The rowers still seemed to object to the plan the leader seemed to be +urging, and finally the boat was allowed to drift down with the +current. + +"This old world is a pretty small place after all," Clay remarked as +the stern of the rowboat disappeared around a little bend. "If you +don't believe it, just consider the events of this trip. We meet Max +on the river and he laps over on us at Quebec. We meet outlaws on a +rocky island three hundred miles away, and they show themselves at the +mouth of the Jacques Cartier river." + +"And we're likely to meet them again, unless I'm very much mistaken," +Case warned. "I don't believe they went down after the raft at all." + +"What was that you said about swimming over to the shore?" asked Alex. + +"To get a fish for dinner," Jule cried. + +Alex dashed into the cabin, tumbled about in the wreckage for a short +time, and came out clad only in a bathing suit. + +"I'm going to swim to shore all right," he said, "but I'm not going +over there to get a fish for dinner." + +"If you see one, catch him by the tail," Case shouted as the boy +entered the water. + +Alex wrinkled a bruised nose in the direction of the sand bar and +dived under, to reappear on the shore line a couple of seconds later. + +"Now, what do you think that little monkey is after?" asked Jule. + +Captain Joe and Teddy seemed to be asking themselves the same +question. At any rate, they decided to go and see, and both were soon +in the water. The boys saw Alex race up a sandy bluff and disappear in +a thicket. + +Here and there on the other side of the river were scattered houses, +but he seemed to pay no attention to these. The animals trotted after +him and soon all were out of sight. The boy was gone only a short time +and when he returned on board and dressed his face looked anxious. + +"Do you know," he said, "those fellows never went down the river at +all. They dropped down under the bend and landed. If we don't get off +this sand bar this afternoon, we'll have to sit up all night waiting +for trouble." + +"Then we'll get off this afternoon," Case observed. "I'm so +constituted that I have to have my sleep regularly." + +"Keep me awake nights if you want to," laughed Alex, "but don't let me +go hungry! I was reared a pet and can't stand it." + +There were now various crafts in sight on the river, but none came +near the bar. Signals made by the boys met with no response. + +"They are a suspicious lot of fellows," Clay decided. + +After several vessels had passed without paying any attention to the +shouts and signals of the boys, they gave up trying to secure +immediate assistance and devoted themselves to the preparation of +dinner--to the great joy of Captain and the eminent disgust of Teddy, +the cub, who had certainly eaten too much honey. + +The cabin was indeed in bad shape, standing at an angle of about +thirty degrees. Many of the dishes were broken, and some of the food +which had been cooked in the morning lay in a messy heap on the floor. + +However, the boys managed to boil coffee and cook eggs, and so, with +bread and butter and canned food, they made a very good meal. + +"Now, what are we going to do?" asked Jule. "We can never get this +boat off alone, and the vessels on the river won't help us." + +"I wonder if the tide doesn't come up here?" asked Clay. + +"If it does, it was not far from high tide when we struck the sand +bar," Jule replied, "and the situation will grow worse instead of +better." + +"Let's get out our shovels and dig a canal to the river," Case +suggested. "We can't play any Robinson Crusoe stunt here very long." + +"And the bold, bad men from the raft will be down on us to-night if we +stay," Alex added, "so I'm for doing anything to get off the bar." + +The boys were actually preparing to dig a trench across the bar when a +steamer to which they called more as a matter of form than with any +expectation of receiving assistance, turned toward their side of the +river and slowed down. + +"Hello, there, boys," came a voice from the bridge. "You must have +been having a head-on collision with a sand bar." + +"Why," Clay exclaimed, "that's Captain Morgan! What was it I was +saying about this being a pretty small world?" + +"Right you are, Captain," called Case. "We're up against it all right. +Can you send us a line?" + +"Certainly," answered the captain. "I'll have you out of that in no +time." + +And he did! The line was sent in a rowboat, attached to the prow of +the _Rambler_ and slowly, steadily, so as not to strain the timbers or +produce cracks in the hull, the motor boat was drawn from her +uncomfortable position, practically uninjured. Clay was soon grasping +the captain by the hand. The other boys shouted their greetings and +remained on board to tidy up the _Rambler_. + +"Young man," Captain Morgan said, "if I had a hundred boys, and the +whole mess of them, combined and individual, got into as many scrapes +as you four kids do, I'd keep them under lock and key!" + +"You'd miss a lot of fun if you did," said Clay. + +"When you get a hold of a nice, choice mess of boys, like the +_Rambler_ crew, you want to give them plenty of room and fresh air. +They'll come out all right!" + +"You do, at any rate," admitted the captain. "Let's see," he added, +"what was it you were going to find when I left you? A lost channel or +something like that? You didn't find it, did you?" + +"We found a scrap, and a lot of ruffians, and a friend," Clay replied, +"and that's all we did find, but we haven't given it up." + +"And that's all you ever will find," declared the captain. "There may +be a lost channel somewhere in the world. In fact, there is one on the +New York side up near the big lake, but I'm afraid you are wasting +your time. Why don't you come on down the river with me?" + +"That would never do," Clay replied. "When we left the delta of the +Mississippi, we promised ourselves that we would look over every inch +of the St. Lawrence, and we're going to do it. We're going to Lake +Ontario and then back to find the lost channel. And after that, we're +going to return to Ogdensburg and ship the _Rambler_ to little old +Chicago. That is, unless we decide to sail up the lakes." + +"Well, good luck to you," said Captain Morgan, as Clay passed down the +side of the _Sybil_. "If I get tangled up with a lost channel +anywhere, I'll send it to you by parcel post. Why, you boys can make a +lost channel easier than you can find one." + +"But it wouldn't be half so much fun," Clay said, stepping into the +rowboat. "We're having lots of sport on the St. Lawrence all the +same!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A MEETING AT MONTREAL + + +As Clay was being rowed back to the _Rambler_, one of the sailors +called his attention to three men standing on the shore of the river +not far away from the intersecting stream. They stood looking down at +the _Rambler_ for a short time, and then disappeared around the angle +of a bluff. + +"Perhaps those men want to be taken off," suggested the sailor. + +"They need their heads taken off," Clay observed. "I am certain from +what I overheard that one of the men was with the outlaws down the +stream. They left a timber raft here, as I believe, for the sole +purpose of attacking us in the night and trying to get our motor boat +away from us." + +"I should imagine from the build of the boat," the other observed, +"that they would have to do some pretty fast traveling if they caught +the _Rambler_ now that she is free. She must be a speedy boat." + +"She certainly is," Clay replied. "She's built like an ocean-going +tug." + +After Clay landed on deck the boys held what they called a council of +war. They were not exactly looking for trouble, still they did not +like the idea of sailing off upstream and leaving the outlaws +unpunished. + +"They bunted into us," Alex insisted, "and we ought to do something to +them. If they take their boat and row down after the timber raft, I'd +like to follow them in the _Rambler_ and tip them over." + +The others felt in about the same way, but it was finally decided to +go on up the river to Montreal, remain there for a couple of days, and +so pass on to the great lakes. + +"If we can keep Alex in the boat at Montreal, we'll be doing a good +job," Jule said. "He's been lost in about every city we've come to, +and I think he ought to be locked in the cabin just as soon as we +touch the pier. It isn't safe to turn him loose at night." + +"All right," Alex agreed, "you may lock me up any old night when I +want to sleep. That will keep me from standing guard." + +The boys anchored in a cove that night, well out of the wash of +passing steamers, and in the middle of the following afternoon, saw +the spires of Montreal. They gazed at the great mountainous bluff +which lies above and beyond the city with wondering eyes. There +battles had been lost and won. The flags of France and Great Britain +had in turn floated over the city from the heights they saw. + +The boys decided that night to spend the whole of the following day in +the historic city. They came to anchor in a slip some distance from +the town itself, and, for a wonder, passed an undisturbed night. + +Early the following morning Clay and Jule set out to view the sights, +it being understood that Alex and Case were to have their freedom in +the afternoon. At first the two boys kept to the river front, +examining the vessels they saw, and wondering if their fate would ever +lead them to all the countries the craft represented. + +As they turned away from the water front, Jule lifted his face and +sniffed the air enjoyably. + +"Do you know," he said, "this is the first place I've struck for +several days where the scent of the lost channel hasn't been in my +nostrils." + +"You've got so you can smell the lost channel now, have you?" grinned +Clay. "That may be a good thing for our future use." + +"I can't smell the channel," Jule replied, "but I can scent the danger +of it. Say, boy," he added, "We're going to have trouble when we go +back to dig up the Fontenelle charter." + +"We came out for adventure, didn't we?" asked Clay. + +"Oh, I'm not kicking," Jule exclaimed. "If I get mine, you'll get +yours, too. The only way to have any fun in this world is to go where +the fun is. You can't meet with adventures by staying in bed at home." + +As the boys proceeded up the street, an officer in uniform standing on +the corner beckoned to them. + +"Say, boys," he said, "do you know those two men just behind you?" + +The boys turned and looked back. + +There were many moving figures and faces in the street, but none which +attracted the especial attention of the lads. They looked inquiringly +at the policeman, who stood with a puzzled expression on his face. + +"Which two men?" asked Jule. + +"Why," replied the officer, "the two men who have followed you for the +last four blocks, stopping when you stopped and going on when you +advanced. I came up the street on the other side just behind you, and +couldn't help observing what was going on." + +"Now," said Clay, turning to Jule, "what do you think about having +lost the scent of the lost channel?" + +"I begin to smell it in the air right now," was the reply. + +The policeman looked at the two boys inquiringly. + +"What do you know about the lost channel?" he asked. + +"Not a thing!" replied Jule. "There isn't any lost channel." + +"Then I've been hearing a lot about nothing lately," smiled the +officer. "Somehow, the newspapers have been full of it lately." + +"Did they say anything about that scrap we had on an island below +Quebec?" asked Case. "We haven't seen a paper lately." + +"They said something about four boys being attacked, down the river, +and a great deal about a quest for a lost channel," replied the +policeman. + +"And about a scrap in Quebec?" asked Jule. + +"Sure," said the officer. "That made half a column. Are you boys from +the _Rambler_? If so, where is the boat?" + +"We're from the _Rambler_ all right," Clay replied, "and it looks as +if some of our friends from down stream are still after us. Can you +describe the men you saw following us? What do they look like?" + +"Just tough riverside characters," answered the officer. "That is how +I came to notice them closely. Such people are rarely seen as far up +in the city as this. They prefer the lower dives." + +"We had trouble with some men from a raft back here a little ways," +Jule explained, "and these may be the fellows. Anyway, we're going to +look out for ourselves and thank you very much for having called our +attention to the incident. We'll be careful." + +The policeman went down the street, swinging his club, and the boys +turned and faced each other with questions in their eyes. + +"What's coming off here?" Jule asked. + +"Seems to me like a game of tag," Clay replied. "From the moment we +left the deck of the _Sybil_, across the river from the egg-shaped +peninsula near St. Luce, we have been It. Some one has been after us +night and day. Now, what are we going to do about it?" + +"I could tell you better if we knew whether the men referred to by the +officers are the enemies of the Fontenelles or just plain river +pirates seeking to seize the _Rambler_. What do you think?" + +"So far as that is concerned," Clay replied, "it makes but little +difference. They all give us trouble, and I propose for once that we +run away from them. I'm more in love with the river than the men we're +likely to meet on it, so we'll get to the quiet spots." + +"Do you mean that we ought to go back to the _Rambler_ right now and +cut Montreal off our visiting list?" asked Jule. + +"In my judgment, that is what we ought to do." + +Jule faced about instantly and started toward the river. + +"Come on then!" he said. "I'm game for it!" + +The boy had turned under the impulse of the moment without sensing +that he was on a crowded pavement in the heart of a big city. As he +swung about, he almost bumped noses with a pedestrian who, in company +with another, had been walking only a couple of yards behind him. + +The man was clothed in the garb of a waterside character, but it was +very plain to the boy that the costume had been assumed for the +purpose of disguise. His complexion was smooth and clear, his eyes +keen and penetrating, and his whole manner and attitude proclaimed +education and native refinement. For an instant Jule and the man stood +looking each other squarely in the eyes. + +"Step aside, lad, step aside," said the disguised man, in a voice far +from unpleasant. "Don't be blocking the way." + +"Is this your street?" demanded Jule willing to continue the +conversation in order that he might have a more prolonged view of the +man opposite him. "If it is, you better take it with you when you go +on." + +The man Jule was watching so closely seemed to understand that he was +under suspicion, and, seizing his companion by the arm, the two passed +on together, turning their heads now and then to watch the progress of +the boys down the street. + +"Did you see that?" asked Jule as the boys stepped along. + +"Did I see what?" asked Clay. "I heard a voice, that's all!" + +"That was Sherlock Holmes in disguise. Did you catch on?" + +"Not than I am aware of!" laughed Clay. "What about it?" + +Jule explained what he had observed in the man against whom the +pressure of the crowd had brought him, and Clay agreed that the man he +had heard speak in a remarkably pleasant tone had not been following +them by accident. + +"Those two men," he said, "are the fellows the policeman referred to." + +"But why should men like those be following us?" asked Jule. "Why, he +looked like a banker, or a lawyer, or a preacher. And what did he have +that kind of a rig on for? It's mighty funny." + +"You may search me," Clay answered. "The incident only confirms the +opinion expressed not long ago that we ought to get out of this city +immediately. Alex and Case can take their outing in some other town." + +The boys walked swiftly down the street for a couple of blocks, turned +into a side thoroughfare, called a taxi, and were driven swiftly back +along a parallel street for two blocks. + +There they dismissed the cab, at the corner of the main street, and +walked along looking for the two men they suspected of hostile +intentions. + +In the middle of the first block they came upon them, walking slowly, +and peering to right and left, as if anxiously searching for some one. + +"That settles it!" Clay said. "We'll go back to the _Rambler_ and +disappear. Once we get started, there isn't a boat on the river that +can catch us. We'll fool these fellows for once." + +When the story of the morning had been told to Alex and Case, they +rather wanted to remain in the city, just "to get a line on the +fellows," as Alex explained, but they finally consented to an +immediate departure. + +That night the _Rambler_ lay at anchor at the mouth of a small creek +on the south side of the St. Lawrence river. Just above them lay a +wooded island, occupied at this time by a colony of vacationists. + +The _Rambler_ had fought her way through the canal, and now lay only a +short distance below the border of Lake St. Frances. + +The boys built a roaring fire on shore and cooked supper there, but +made no arrangements for sleeping out of doors. The blaze brought +several people from a little settlement not far away, and the boys +rather enjoyed their company. After a time Clay whispered to Jule: + +"Stick your nose up in the air, kid, and see if you can get a scent of +the lost channel in this crowd!" + +"Nothing doing!" Jule answered with a grin. + +"Now we'll see whether there is or not," Clay said. + +He turned to an elderly gentleman who sat by his side and asked: + +"I have heard that there is a lost channel on the American side just +this side of Lake Ontario. Is that true?" + +"Yes," said the man with a smile, "and I have heard that there is a +lost channel down below Quebec, too. And I read in the newspaper that +you boys were in search of it. Is that so?" + +Clay faced Jule with a smile on his face. + +"Whatever we do," he said, "we can't escape the lost channel." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +AN OLD FRIEND APPEARS + + +"How did this channel get lost?" Alex asked with a whimsical smile. + +"Well," replied the other, "I don't believe there is a lost channel. +You may go down the St. Lawrence river, up one side and down the +other--and I've been over every inch of it--and you can't find any +place for a lost channel, unless you locate it at a headland which was +once an island. In that case, there might be a lost channel. But the +charts of the river for two hundred years show no such change in +conformation." + +"That seems to be conclusive," Clay suggested. + +"Conclusive? Of course it is, but you can't make this man Fontenelle +believe it. Now, look here, stranger," he went on, "I've read what the +newspapers say about you, and I know that you intend to go back there +and look for that lost channel. Is that right?" + +"It seems to me that the newspapers are advertising us pretty +thoroughly," Clay observed. "Every one seems to know all about us." + +"Of course!" assented the older man. "You boys and your boat are about +as well known on this river, by reputation at least, as Lawyer Martin, +and he's been doing a heap of traveling up and down lately. Why, +Lawyer Martin was right here the very day the Quebec newspapers +printed the story that you boys were going to find the lost channel. +He read the story and jumped. + +"Yes, sir! He jumped like a man going to locate an oil claim. I rowed +him out to the first steamer that came along, and heard him offer the +captain a big wad of money if he would gain time on the trip to +Quebec." + +"Do you think the story about the lost channel had anything to do with +his sudden departure?" asked Clay. + +"Yes, sir. Yes, sir," was the reply. "He didn't tell me what he +suspected or feared, but he hurried away to find out what was going on +just the same. And he hurried away right soon." + +"Is he in any way interested in the Fontenelle charter?" asked Clay. + +"Interested?" repeated the other. "I should say he was! Why, he's the +lawyer for all of us fellows who will be turned off our farms if the +charter should be found and sustained." + +"I see," said Clay, "I see!" + +"Now," whispered Jule, giving Clay a nudge in the side, "we'll find +out who the disguised man was. It might have been this Lawyer Martin." + +"What kind of a looking man is Mr. Martin?" asked Clay. + +"Mighty nice looking fellow," was the reply. "Shows breeding and +culture all the way through, just like a thoroughbred horse shows what +he's got in him. His face is as white as a woman's and his eyes are as +clear as a girl's! + +"He neither drinks nor smokes, and he is about the best play actor you +ever saw on the stage. Put a river man's rig on him and he looks like +a river man. + +"Dress him up like a preacher, and you'd think he had the bible by +heart. He's been in our schoolhouse many a time on his trips here, +showing the boys and girls how to conduct a commencement exhibition. +Oh, he's mighty popular all along the river!" + +Another nudge and whisper from Jule. + +"Blonde or black?" the boy suggested. + +"I think I know the man," Clay went on, following the lead again. "He +has very black eyes, hasn't he? And a nose with a little hump on it, +and a wide, straight mouth and thin lips." + +"No, sir. No, sir," was the reply. "He's got light hair and blue eyes, +and a straight nose, and a mouth that isn't wide nor straight. Mighty +handsome man, is Lawyer Martin. We all like him up here!" + +"And you will lose your farm if this charter is found and sustained?" +asked Clay. "You and many of your neighbors?" + +"That's what they say," replied the other, "though, of course, it will +depend upon what young Fontenelle says about it." + +"The courts might not sustain the charter," suggested Clay. + +"Oh well, we're not worrying about it," was the reply. "We're leaving +the whole case to Lawyer Martin." + +As the night advanced the residents left the campfire and returned to +their homes, while the boys sought their bunks on board the _Rambler_. + +"What was it some one said about a small world?" asked Clay. "Who was +it that said that a face once seen was sure to cross our paths in +future years? Was it the same man who said that a note of music once +struck revolves around the earth for countless millions of years, +never ceasing, never reaching mortal ears, but making its way through +space forever?" + +"Hold on!" Alex cried. "Come down from the stars if you want to talk +to us." + +"Well," Clay went on, "every person we have met at our stopping-places +has been seen or heard of at the next stopping-place. We meet a +disguised man on the street at Montreal. We come to a campfire by the +riverside, miles above the city, to learn why he was disguised, and +why he was following us. As we have said several times lately, this is +a pretty small world. The man you meet to-day may walk in your path +forever!" + +The boys were astir early in the morning. They cooked breakfast on the +shore, watched by inquisitive boys and girls, and then proceeded +upstream. They passed beautiful Lake St. Frances long before noon, and +just as night fell tied up at a lower pier at Ogdensburg. As soon as +supper had been eaten, Alex and Captain Joe started away together. + +"Here, where are you boys going?" asked Clay. "I say boys because +Captain Joe has more sense than Alex," he added, turning to the +others. "At least Captain Joe doesn't get lost very often." + +"Right over here on the river front," Alex replied, "is where the +Rutland Transit Company boats dock. Those boats are fresh from +Chicago, and I'm going over to see if I can get a drink of Lake +Michigan water!" + +"If you go over there with that dog," Case declared, "the sailors will +steal him. That dog is about as well known in Chicago as Carter H. +Harrison. He's had his picture in every one of the Chicago +newspapers." + +"All right," replied Alex. "If they catch him and take him back to +Chicago, they'll have to take me with him." + +The boy took his departure, accompanied by the dog, and the others sat +down to a quiet evening in the cabin. They had had several pleasant +days and many thrilling adventures on the St. Lawrence river. + +There remained now only about a hundred miles of travel, Lake Ontario +being only that distance away. But included in that hundred miles were +all the beautiful islands, great and small, which have made the St. +Lawrence river famous. + +The pleasantest part of their trip was yet to come. + +While the boys lay in the cabin, with the lights all out as usual, a +heavy step sounded on the deck, and there came a sharp rap at the +cabin door. The boys sprang out of their bunks instantly. + +"What's coming off now?" whispered Jule. "Anyway, this fellow has more +manners than our other night visitors." + +Clay stepped to the door, searchlight in hand, and turned a circle of +flame on the face of the newcomer. Then he dropped the electric and +sprang forward. The boys were getting ready with their automatics when +they heard his voice speaking in great excitement. + +"Captain Joe!" he cried. "Captain Joe! Where the dickens did you come +from? What are you doing at Ogdensburg?" + +"I might ask the same question of you," replied the hearty old +ex-captain. "To tell you the truth, lad," he went on, "I've been so +lonesome ever since you boys left the South Branch that I've done +quite a lot of traveling, for an old man. Several times I've been +almost up with you but you always got away." + +"You never came all the way up here to visit us?" asked Case. + +"To be honest about it, boys," the ex-captain replied, "I just did +that very thing. I've got a friend who is captain of the Rutland boat +which arrived this evening, and I came on with him. Mighty fine trip +we had, too. And how are you all, and where is Alex and my namesake?" + +"You wouldn't know Captain Joe," laughed Clay. "He's got to be the +biggest, fiercest, wisest, pluckiest bulldog in the world." + +"And Teddy bear! You remember him of course," Jule put in. "He ate up +two pirates down the river, body and bones, and is so fat that we have +to help him out of bed. Great bear, that!" + +"Boys, boys," warned Captain Joe. "Don't exaggerate. I've always told +you not to exaggerate. Do you think Captain Joe will know me?" + +"Of course he will," said Case. "Captain Joe never forgets a friend." + +"And now that you are here," Clay put in, "you are going to remain +with us while we go back down the St. Lawrence to St. Luce and return +here. Then we'll either ship the boat to Chicago or take her slowly up +the lakes. Won't that be a fine old trip?" + +"It listens pretty good to me," Captain Joe answered. "To be honest +with you, boys," he continued, "I've been wanting a trip on the +_Rambler_, but I never felt like getting away until now." + +"You sailed on the St. Lawrence once a good many years ago, didn't +you, Captain Joe?" asked Jule. + +"Did I?" asked Captain Joe extending his stubby forefinger by way of +emphasis. "Did I sail on the St. Lawrence river? Boys, I know every +inch of it, up one side and down the other and through the middle." + +"Then you'll be a great help to us," Clay suggested. + +"Oh, you boys don't need any help navigating a boat on any river," +Captain Joe asserted. "You boys are all right! But I was going to tell +you about the St. Lawrence river." + +"A few years ago, there wasn't an eddy, nor a swirl, nor an island, +nor a channel, on the whole stream from Wolfe island to the waters of +the Atlantic that I didn't know all about. I've sailed her night and +day and I could take a ship down the rapids now. Only the government +won't give me a license because I can read and write," he added in a +sarcastic tone. + +"Well, Captain Joe, you're just the identical man we've been looking +for," cried Clay. "Several hundred years ago an old Frenchman by the +name of Cartier mislaid a channel down the river. Now we want you to +help us find that channel!" + +"Oh, you want to find a channel, do you?" laughed Captain Joe. "Well, +now, I'll tell you, boys, if that channel has been open at any time +within the past hundred years, I can find it. Of course I wasn't on +the river as long ago as that, but my old dad was, and he taught me to +read the St. Lawrence like a boy reads the stories of Captain Kidd." + +"That is fine!" the boys exclaimed in a breath. + +Then Clay laughed and nudged his companions and said: + +"Captain Joe, did you ever hear anybody say that this is a mighty +small world? If so, do you think it's true?" + +"It is bigger than I have ever been able to get over," replied Captain +Joe, not understanding. "I've seen quite a lot of it, but not all." + +Then Clay told the captain of their adventures on the St. Lawrence, +showing him the two mysterious communications, with the understanding +that he was never to mention their existence to any one. + +"And so there really is a lost channel?" asked Captain Joe. + +"You bet there is! There is more than one lost channel. Go bite him +doggie!" + +The voice came from the doorway, and the next moment, Alex and Captain +Joe, the bulldog, came tumbling into the room. + +"Say, my namesake is getting to be some dog," shouted the Captain, +after the greetings were over. "He's big enough to find a lost channel +anywhere. And he looks fierce enough, too." + +"He's always perfectly willing to do his share of the looking," Alex +grinned. "And we're perfectly willing to give him a chance to help." + +"Then I'll take him into partnership," Captain Joe, the man, said, +"and we'll go out hunting for what you seek. If there is a lost +channel anywhere it will go hard if we don't find it!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THROUGH THE FAMOUS RAPIDS + + +A special bunk, the softest and springiest that could be made, was +fitted up for Captain Joe in the cabin that night. The old fellow so +enjoyed visiting with the boys that it was late before they went to +sleep, and so the sun was well up when they left their beds in the +morning. + +"Now," Clay said, after all had indulged in a short swim in the river, +"we're going to celebrate the arrival of Captain Joe by one of Alex's +beefsteak breakfasts at a restaurant. Captain Joe has traveled so far +to see us that we're not going to take any chances on having him +poisoned by Case's cooking." + +"Now look here, boys," Captain Joe remonstrated, "I've had a good many +restaurant meals along the South Branch since you boys deserted me, +and a chef has been cooking for me on the Rutland boat, so I propose +that we get breakfast right here, on the _Rambler_. It will be a +novelty for me, anyway." + +"What would you like, Captain?" asked Alex. + +"Well," said Captain Joe almost smacking his lips, "you know the kind +of pancakes they serve at the Bismark, Chicago? They're half an inch +thick, you know, and as large as the bottom of a milk pan. Cost a +quarter apiece, and a fellow doesn't want anything more to eat all +day! Now, you go ahead and make pancakes like we used to get at the +Bismark." + +"And eggs, and ham, and beans, and coffee, and fried potatoes, and +canned peaches?" asked Case. "We're sure going to celebrate, Captain +Joe." + +"Well boys," said the old captain, "if you want to go and make +provision tanks of yourselves, you can do it, but for my part, I'm +going to be careful in my eating, as I'm getting old! Just rig me up a +simple little meal consisting of eight or ten of those twenty-five +cent pancakes and half a dozen eggs and three or four cups of coffee, +and I'll try to worry through the day." + +"I don't see how you can get along with anything less than a dozen +pancakes and a gallon of coffee," laughed Clay, "and I'll go on shore +and buy a box of the finest cigars to be had in Ogdensburg." + +Captain Joe held up a warning finger. + +"Now look here, boys," he said, "you know how I used to pull away at +that dirty old pipe on the South Branch. I used to be ashamed of +myself, smoking up your quarters, so after you left I quit the weed +entirely. I haven't smoked a pipe or cigar for a long time," he added, +proudly. + +And so the breakfast was prepared as Captain Joe directed. The boys +set out what little honey Teddy hadn't succeeded in getting hold of, +and the pancakes were greatly enjoyed. But the Captain didn't finish +his stunt. + +"You boys are mighty good to an old man like me," he said. + +"Mighty good!" repeated Clay. "Don't you remember when some sneak +stole all the money we had been saving for a year to take us on the +Amazon trip? Don't you remember how we hustled and got a little more +together, and how you were afraid we wouldn't have enough, and might +go broke in the Andes, and you took two hundred dollars and put it in +a packet and told us to open it when we got into trouble? There is +nothing on this boat you can't have, Captain Joe." + +"Well," said the old man, "I didn't need the money, and, besides, I +got it back. It didn't cost me anything to lend it." + +"We needed it, though," grinned Alex, "and we might have been back +there yet if we hadn't had it. You're the luckiest man I know of or it +would never have been returned. And we were lucky, too." + +"And now, if you don't mind," said Captain Joe, "we'll cut all this +talk out. I'm going to stay with you boys just as long as you'll let +me, and I don't want to hear any more talk about that consarned two +hundred dollars. I've heard too much already." + +"We think of it every time we see the white bulldog," laughed Case. + +"By the way," said the Captain, "I've got that two hundred dollars in +my jeans this minute, and if you should happen to want any of it just +let me know. I really don't know what to do with it." + +"Pigs will be flying when we use any more of your money, Captain Joe," +Alex smiled. "We've got plenty of our own." + +After breakfast, with Captain Joe at the helm, the boat was turned +toward the Great Lakes. It was seven o'clock when they left Ogdensburg +and at ten they were at Alexandria Bay. + +"Suppose we keep on the Canadian side going up," Captain Joe +suggested, "and then, when we come back, we can take the American +side." + +"Can you take the boat up and back without knocking off any of these +headlands?" asked Alex with a wink at the Captain. + +"Look here, young man," replied the Captain not at all offended, "I +was dipping the water into this river before you were born. I can take +this boat within an inch of every island and crag and headland between +here and Lake Ontario and never scrape off an ounce of paint. I've +sailed on the ocean, too, and all up and down the Great Lakes. This +St. Lawrence river was always like a little pet kitten to me." + +According to this suggestion, the captain left Alexandria Bay to the +south and proceeded over to the Canadian side. The boat was now just +starting in on its run through the famous Thousand Islands. + +Many times it seemed to the boys as if Captain Joe intended to run the +craft directly through some of the magnificent cottages located high +above the river, but always the boat turned just in time to keep in +foot-clear water. The boys stood leaning on the gunwale for hours +watching the splendid panorama of the river. + +There were islands rich with verdure; there were islets brown and +rocky, there were great level places hemmed in by the river where +magnificent summer residences showed against the beauty of the +landscape. + +Now and then summer tourists hailed the _Rambler_ from the river, and +occasionally girls and boys ran down the island piers to greet her +with the waving of flags. It was a glorious trip. + +Captain Joe explained many features of the stream as they passed up, +and as long as the boys lived they remembered the shimmer of the sun +on the island foliage, the white-fringed waves rumpled by the light +wind, and the voice of the kind old man telling them the experiences +of a life time. + +Just before sundown, after one of the pleasantest days they ever +experienced, the boys reached Kingston. Captain Joe seemed disinclined +to leave the boat that night, and so the boys spent three hours +wandering up and down the streets of the historic old city. Off to the +west lay the famous Bay of Quinte. Farther south was Sackett's Harbor, +while between the two lay Wolfe island, stuck into the mouth of the +St. Lawrence river like a great plug. The boys enjoyed the night +ramble immensely. + +"Now, Captain Joe," Clay said in the morning, "suppose we circle Wolfe +island, inspect the light house at Cape Vincent, and spend part of a +day at Sackett's Harbor? I don't know of any better way to spend the +next twelve hours than in making a trip like that." + +"Sackett's Harbor was a military point during the last war with Great +Britain," Jule said, "and I'd like to look over the town." + +"Nothing much doing there now in the way of guns and soldiers," +Captain Joe said, "but, as you say, it would pay you well to spend a +day on the waters in this vicinity. You may never have the chance +again." + +So the _Rambler_ headed for Cape Vincent, where they stopped long +enough to inspect the big light, first taking a view of Sackett's +Harbor. About noon, they came to Clayton, where they paused long +enough to inspect several groups of islands on the American side. + +Then, with Captain Joe still at the helm, the boat passed down to +Alexandria Bay where they tied up for the night. + +"To-morrow," Captain Joe said, as the boys made great inroads on the +Bismark pancakes stacked up on the table, "I'll take you through the +Lachine rapids. You'll find we'll have to go some." + +"You haven't got any government license!" laughed Alex. + +"No," said the old Captain, "I'm not an ignorant Indian. I can read +and write, and so I can't get a government license, but I'll tell you +what I can do. I can take this boat down the Lachine without getting a +drop of water on the deck." + +The Captain was a little bit inclined to tell what he had done and +what he could do, but his stories were all truthful and interesting, +so the boys rather enjoyed them, and the captain enjoyed talking. + +"You needn't think we're going to fly through the air on this trip," +Jule said winking at the Captain. "We're going to take about two days +to get down to the Lachine. We'll loaf along the river to-morrow, +making about one hundred miles, tie up for the night, and reach +Lachine in the afternoon of the day after. What do you think of that +for a program, boys?" he added, turning to Clay. + +"That's the way I figured it out," Clay answered. "There is no use in +being in a hurry. We've got all the time there is." + +Every person on the boat, except perhaps the dog and the bear, slept +soundly that night. There was no wind, and the little bay they were in +protected them from the wash of the steamers. When they awoke in the +morning the sun was rising round and red out of the river. + +That day was another one long to be remembered by every member of the +_Rambler_ party. They drifted, using the motors just enough to give +headway, fished in the clear water, and told stories of old days on +the South Branch--days long to be remembered by them all. + +That night partook of the character of the last one so far as sleep +and rest were concerned. The boat lay at a little pier not far from a +rural settlement. Early in the evening villagers came down attracted +by the clamor of the motors but soon returned to their homes. + +It was on that evening that Alex made his famous attempt to cook a +river fish a la Indian. There was something the matter with the fish, +or with the hot stones, or with the soil! At any rate, the white +bulldog and the bear cub got the supper the boy had sweated over for +an hour or more. + +Shortly after noon on the following day, the _Rambler_ came to the +head of the Lachine rapids, six miles above Montreal. + +Although the boys had every confidence in Captain Joe as a pilot, some +of them were inclined to think that his memory of the rapids might not +be as good as his skill. Many a time during that passage the grand and +lofty tumbling of the waters as they broke upon projecting rocks +seemed about to engulf the frail craft. + +Many a time the nose of the _Rambler_ seemed pointing directly at a +hidden rock which sent the river spouting into the air like the "blow" +of a great whale. Many a time the wayward current caught the prow and +twisted it about until it seemed as if the boat would never respond to +her rudder again. + +But the eyes of the captain were true, the arms of the old sailing man +were strong, and so the boat always came back to the course he had +mapped out for her. When at last the rapids were passed, the boys were +greatly relieved. + +During the excitement of the trip, little fear had been felt after the +first plunge, but now that it was over, they realized that they had +been in absolute peril. Almost with the momentum which had carried the +_Rambler_ down the Lachine, the boat came to a pier on the river front +at Montreal. Looking about, the boys saw that they were almost in the +location where they had tied up before. + +Clay sprang ashore, hastened to a telephone, talked eagerly for a few +moments and then returned to the _Rambler_. Captain Joe sat out on the +prow and the boy took a deck stool beside him. + +"Captain Joe," the boy asked, "what would have taken place if we had +run out of gasoline while navigating the rapids?" + +The captain eyed the boy with surprise showing on his weather-beaten +face. He poked Clay in the ribs before answering. + +"Why do you ask an old captain a foolish question like that?" he said. + +"I'm asking for information," was the reply. "Tell me what would have +happened. I really want to know." + +"Well," Captain Joe replied, scratching his chin meditatively, "if the +gasoline had given out in the rapids, just about this time there would +be a lot of boards bumping against the rocks, and a motor rusting in +the bottom of the river, and five human beings, a bulldog and a bear +floating out toward the Gulf of St. Lawrence." + +"That's just what I thought," Clay exclaimed. "That's just why I was +scared stiff when I found out that we were just about out of gasoline +as we struck the head of the rapids." + +"And you never said a word about it," asked the captain, "to any of +the boys? You kept it all to yourself?" + +"Huh," replied Clay, "where was the use in scaring the fellows out of +a year's growth. Didn't you notice my cap walking straight up into the +air? That was because my hair lifted it." + +"Boy, boy," expostulated Captain Joe, "don't lie to the old man. I +don't believe you were scared at all." + +"Well, anyway," replied Clay, "the tanks are empty, and there will be +a wagon down here pretty quick to fill them up. Now mind you, I'm not +going to say a word to the other boys about this. If I do, they'll +never get over roasting me. We should have taken on gasoline at +Kingston, but I forgot all about it." + +"Do you remember what you told me about this Lawyer Martin?" asked +Captain Joe. "He seems to be the lawyer leading the band of ruffians +who are trying to keep the lost channel lost forever!" + +"Yes," replied Clay, "and I was just going to speak about that. It was +in Montreal that we met him, disguised as a riverside character, and I +was wondering if it might not be well to go ashore and look him up." + +"Don't you ever think of doing that," Captain Joe replied. "You get +your gasoline and lay in additional pancake material and we'll go on +down the river to Cartier island. That's what they call that +peninsula, isn't it? Let me tell you this," the old man added, "if you +have anything more to do with this man Martin, you let him be the one +to do the looking up." + +"That's good sense, too," agreed Clay. "He might discover that we were +on our way back if we went up into the city. So we'll remain quiet +to-night and set out for Cartier island and the lost channel early +to-morrow morning." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A CALL FROM WRECKERS + + +Nothing occurred to disturb the slumbers of the _Rambler's_ crew that +night. The cool wind made the cabin of the boat comfortable, and the +street lights of Montreal winked down upon the craft with friendly +eyes. The afternoon of the following day found them at Quebec. + +"I've been thinking," Clay said as the boat tied up at the pier they +had occupied on the occasion of their former visit, "that we ought not +to keep this stolen canoe. Of course Max stole it." + +"Perhaps he'll come down here and claim it again," suggested Jule. + +"If he does," Alex exclaimed, "I'm going on shore to find him and get +even with him. He'd no business to bring that gang of wharf rats onto +us. I hope he's under arrest somewhere." + +"There's an idea!" suggested Case. "Suppose we telephone to the chief +of police and find out. We can leave the canoe in the care of the +chief, too, if we want to. He might be able to find the owner." + +"It seems to me," Captain Joe interrupted, "that you boys may as well +keep that canoe until we return to Quebec, on our way to the Great +Lakes. It will come in mighty handy when we're prowling around those +two rivers you've been talking about. The owner won't miss it for a +few days." + +"That's another good notion," Clay agreed. "We'll use the canoe and +return it when we get back. And now I'll go and telephone to the chief +of police and see if he has discovered anything additional about Max." + +Clay was gone only a short time. When he returned, he looked a trifle +anxious. When he spoke, it was in an excited tone. + +"Look here, boys," he said, "the chief of police advises to us to give +up that hunt for the lost channel. He says that Fontenelle has just +returned from Cartier island leaving a wrecked launch and a lot of +perfectly good stores stacked on the bottom of the river." + +"I had an idea," Captain Joe suggested, "that things would be moving +about the time we got down here. Why, do you know, boys," he went on, +"that this lost channel matter is creating about as much excitement in +Quebec province as the coronation of a new king ought to?" + +"The procession seemed to start about the time we struck the river," +Alex grinned, "and there's been music ever since we left St. Luce." + +"Yes," Clay went on, "and the newspapers have been printing feature +stories and describing the family jewels, and the lost channel, and +telling how many land-holders would be made homeless if the charter +should ever be found and sustained. The newspapers are always meddling +with our affairs." + +"You let the newspapers alone," advised Captain Joe. "They have +advertised you boys, and the _Rambler_, and the bulldog, and the bear, +from one end of this river to the other." + +"Well, what do you think about this advice given by the chief?" asked +Clay. "We ought to reach some conclusion immediately." + +"You came down here to find that lost channel, didn't you?" asked +Uncle Joe with a twinkle in his eyes. + +"We came down here to look for it," answered the boy. + +"Well, then," continued Captain Joe, "we'll go and look for it." + +"That's what I thought!" cried Case. + +"I wouldn't turn back now for a million!" yelled Alex. + +"Boys," smiled Captain Joe, "I never knew any one to get rich by +changing plans every time some fool friend advanced a contrary +opinion. When you make up your mind to do a thing, you go right on and +do it. Did you ever notice the bulldog when he gets into a scrap?" + +"I've seen him in several scraps," answered Clay. + +"Well," went on the captain, "when the bulldog gets into a fight, the +harder they chew him the tighter he hangs on, and that's about the way +all the money and reputations have been made in this combative world." + +"Oh, we hadn't any idea of turning back," Clay hastened to say. "I +only wanted to know what the others thought about it." + +"Well you found out pretty quick," laughed Jule. "Why, we've had four +or five days that we haven't had a fight, or seen a midnight prowler, +or been dumped on a sand bar, or experienced any other pleasant little +incident of that description. I was actually beginning to fear that +our river trip from this time on would be one long sweet dream." + +The boys passed another restful night and were up with the sun. The +first thing Alex did after bathing and dressing was to spring to the +pier and start off into the city. + +"Here, here!" cried Captain Joe. "We don't allow little boys to go +wandering off alone! If you've got to go, I'm going with you." + +"That's fine!" shouted Alex, capering about on his toes. "Come along, +and we'll take the old town to pieces to see what makes it tick." + +"I'm going uptown," Alex explained as they mounted one of the sidling +streets which led up from the river, "to buy a porterhouse steak that +weighs ten pounds. This will be our last chance." + +"Now," said Captain Joe mildly, "don't you think a porterhouse steak +weighing nine pounds and a half would be enough for our breakfast?" + +"But we ain't going to have this steak for breakfast," Alex protested. +"I'm going to put this steak in that cute little cold air refrigerator +of ours and when wet get down to Cartier island, I'm going to cook a +beefsteak a la brigand. If you eat a steak cooked in that way once, +you'll never want one cooked any other way. It's simply great!" + +"It's a new one on me," replied Captain Joe. + +"Oh, well," Alex said, "I'll show you all about cooking it when the +time comes. When we get back to the South Branch, you can have one +every day if you want it. We can get pretty good porterhouse in +Chicago." + +The two strolled through the city for a couple of hours, buying +vegetables, condensed milk, tinned goods, fresh fruit and meats. +Later, when the provisions were delivered to the _Rambler_ at the foot +of the pier, Case declared that Alex had spent money enough to take +them all over Europe. Alex was somewhat disappointed to think that he +had not encountered Max in the city, but did not inform his chums how +keenly he had watched for him. + +"What did the chief of police say about Max?" asked the boy as they +returned to the boat. "You forgot to say anything about that." + +"Sure I did," answered Clay. "Well, he said that Max had blossomed out +in a suit that must have cost a hundred, with a big roll of money in +his pocket. He said, too, that he had strutted around the city for a +few days and then suddenly disappeared. It is the opinion of the chief +that the boy, who is by no means as young as he looks, went down the +river to Cartier island." + +"I really hope he has," Alex blurted out, "I'll crack that boy's crust +if I ever come across him." + +"And you'll wash dishes, too," laughed Captain Joe. "Oh, I remember +how you boys used to fight against slang up on the South Branch." + +That night the boys anchored the _Rambler_ in a cove of good size just +south of Rivere du Loup. They were well away from the wash of the +steamers, and yet not near enough to the houses of the little railway +station to attract general attention. + +The night closed down cloudy and dark. The passing vessels on the +river seemed to burn holes in the darkness for only an instant and +then disappear. + +The sounds which came from the water rang loudly in the heavy +atmosphere and sounded mysterious and uncanny. There were plenty of +vessels on the river now, as the channel between the gulf and Quebec +is navigable for the largest ocean steamers. + +While the boys lay in the cabin, sheltered from the gulf wind which +had been so grateful the night before, the heavy rumbling of a freight +train and sharp call of an engine whistle came to their ears. + +"That listens good to me," Alex cried. "Say, fellows, how would you +like to know, just for a couple of hours, that the noise of that train +came from the Union station in little old Chicago?" + +"Yes," Jule exclaimed, "I like to look into the river and think I'm +standing on Madison street bridge! Do you remember the stories the +newspapers used to print about the water in the Chicago river, before +the drainage canal was put through? Pretty good fiction, eh?" + +Captain Joe chuckled until his shoulders shook like jelly. + +"Every reporter on the Chicago papers in those days," the captain +said, "was turning out works of fiction. They used to print pieces +about men falling off Madison street bridge and off Clark street +bridge and dashing out their brains on the solid water below. And then +they used to tell stories about the river being so black the typists +used to color their ribbons in it. There's something about Chicago +that seems to me to stir the imagination! It's a great old town!" + +The boys discussed their home city until something like ten o'clock. +They were just going to bed when a call came from the shore at the end +of the cove. All were on deck instantly. + +"Perhaps that's Max," suggested Jule, "or one of those river pirates." + +"Or it may be a detachment of ruffians looking for the lost channel," +Case put in. + +Captain Joe sat back and laughed heartily. + +"Boys," he said, "I believe that lost channel has turned your heads. +You talk about it, and drink it, and sleep it, and I believe you would +eat it if there was anything tangible about it. I'm interested in it, +too, kids, but I don't spread it on my bread instead of butter." + +"Hello, the boat," came the hail from the shore. + +"What do you want?" asked Clay. + +"I want to come on board." + +"Beds all full," answered Alex. + +"But I want to talk with you," insisted the strange voice. + +"All right," Clay said, "proceed with your conversation." + +"I'm not here to confide to the whole countryside what I want to say +to you," was the angry reply. + +Clay was considering a sarcastic rejoinder but Case laid a warning +hand on his shoulder. + +"There may be something in this," the boy said. "Suppose two of us get +into the boat and go over and see." + +"Don't you think of such a thing," Captain Joe advised. "That fellow +may not have a boat of his own, but if he is of any account at all, he +can get one long enough to row out to the _Rambler_. The place for him +to talk to us is right on this deck. It may be a trap." + +"That's good sense, too," Clay agreed. "He can go away if he doesn't +want to comply with our requirements. He may be only a tramp seeking a +ride on the river. There are plenty of such characters here." + +"I wish he would come aboard," Clay suggested, "and I'll see if I +can't coax him," he added, turning toward the shore and making a +trumpet of his hands. "Perhaps he already has a boat." + +"Hello, the shore," he called, "we're going away directly, so if you +want to talk with us, you'd better row out." + +"You always was the boy with a little prevarication on the end of your +tongue!" suggested Alex. "We're not going away directly." + +"Morning is directly," laughed Clay turning toward the shore again. + +"Are you coming on board?" he asked. + +"I haven't got any boat," was the reply. "Why can't you send one +over?" + +Clay's reply elicited a volley of epithets from the shore, and +directly a great blaze sprang up not many feet distant from the water. + +"Wreckers!" cried Captain Joe. + +"Surest thing you know!" answered Clay. "The only wonder is that they +didn't set their beacon going before." + +"And this," Jule suggested, "seems to be more like real life. Things +are livening up. They'll be going good by the time we get to St. +Luce." + +"They may be going too fast!" warned the old captain. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +CAPTAIN JOE'S NIGHT VISIT + + +"I really would like to know," Case observed, "whether those fellows +are real wreckers, or whether they have been waiting there for the +_Rambler_ to come back down the river. You know the story was printed +that we were coming back to look up the lost channel." + +"I don't know of any way of finding out unless we go to shore," Alex +suggested, looking very much as if he would like to pay a visit to the +blaze. "We might learn something of importance," he added rather +coaxingly. "Suppose we do go and see." + +"If you try to leave this boat to-night," Clay declared, "I'll tie you +up with one of the anchor cables. We haven't got any time to waste +hunting for you. So you stay on board the boat." + +Alex did not exactly like the idea of going quietly to bed, but he was +finally induced to do so. + +"Now," said Captain Joe, as he stood alone on deck with Clay, "suppose +we shove over to the other shore. Those fellows are wreckers, there is +no doubt of that, and there is no sense in our mixing with them. If we +stay here, they'll prowl around the _Rambler_ all night, and the +bulldog will bark and the bear will growl, and it will be like +sleeping in a boiler shop. What do you say to that?" + +"That suits me exactly," Clay answered. + +"Then I'll tell you what we'll do. From the point where we tie +to-night, we'll pass down the river on the north side. That will bring +us in behind Cartier island, and we can push up the west river instead +of the east one, which seemed to be the center of activity when you +were there." + +"That's another good suggestion," Clay agreed. + +"The west river," the old captain went on, "is a small stream in +comparison with the other. There's a funny thing about it that I never +could understand. I was in there once, landing supplies for a +surveying party and it seemed to me then that that stream never grew +to any size until it came within a mile or so of the isthmus which +connects the peninsula with the main shore." + +"Then there must be some tributary of good size there," said Clay. + +"That's just the point," the captain went on. "There isn't any +tributary of good size there. The peninsula is very narrow and slopes +steeply to the west. In fact, the river to the east is several feet +higher than the one on the west. That's one reason why I think there +never was any channel through there." + +"That is true," Clay answered. "You see, a channel through there, +running at the rate the incline would naturally call for, would cut a +hole through that neck of land about as wide as one of the main +rivers. Why, it would drain the big river and turn all the water into +the small stream. At least, it looks that way to me." + +"Oh, I don't know about that," the captain answered, "there's a lot of +water in that east river. Still, there's no channel there and never +was so far as I can understand. Now, what I can't understand is, how +this west river gets so big all at once. There may be a creek running +in at the other side, but if there is, I never found it." + +"You seem to understand that district pretty well," Clay laughed. + +"Didn't I tell you I knew the whole St. Lawrence river south, north, +and bottom?" demanded the captain. "Why, when I took that load of +provisions in for the surveyors, there were Indians enough along the +shore to give a city a population as large as Chicago's. And there +were bears, and wolves, and deer, and beaver, and all sorts of wild +creatures in the woods--thick as berries in a swamp." + +During this conversation the two had been watching the shore where the +light had sprung up. With a night glass they could see figures passing +in front of the blaze, but the beacon, if such it was, soon died down +to embers, and nothing more was heard from the shore. + +They both listened for the sound of oars in the river, but none came. +The tide was running in and the current was running out, with the +result that great ranks of waves lay across the wide river like +winnows in a field of grain. The wind blew sweeping up from the gulf, +opposing the current, and, taken altogether, it was as dangerous and +uncertain a night on the river as one could well imagine. + +The _Rambler_ danced and bobbed about frightfully, drawing at her +anchor and seeming to lunge forward in the waste of water. However, +she was a staunch little craft, and the boys were used to her capers +on the waves, and so paid little attention. + +"They wouldn't dare to venture out in a boat to-night," was Clay's +comment. "Besides," he added, "they know now that we are suspicious +and watchful, and, unless I am greatly in error, we will hear no more +of them." + +"Shall we go across now?" asked the captain. + +"I'm ready if you think we can make it." + +The captain chuckled again and his shoulders shook. + +"Make it?" he repeated. "Of course we can make it." + +"The tide and the wind are fighting the current," Clay suggested, "and +all we'll have to do will be to fight the waves." + +It was rather rough getting to the north shore, but the trip was made +without accident, except that Jule was thrown from his bunk and +Captain Joe, the dog, and Teddy protested against the storm in ways +best known to bulldogs and bears. Jule merely rubbed his eyes and +crawled back into his bunk. + +They found a place to anchor where the _Rambler_ would be protected +during the night by a finger of rock running out into the river. All +along the shore to the north was a heavy forest. The trees swayed and +creaked in the wind, and now and then a crash from the interior told +of the falling of some monarch of the forest which had doubtless +withstood the storms of the St. Lawrence valley for hundreds of years. + +It was a wild night on the river and on the land, but the boys slept +peacefully until morning. As for Captain Joe, he declared that it +reminded him so much of old nights on the banks of Newfoundland that +he wanted to sit up and refresh his recollection of those adventurous +times. + +Clay rather suspected that the old captain was too apprehensive of +evil from the wreckers, or accidents from the storm, to go to bed, but +he let him have his way, and the hardy old fellow seemed as bright and +active as ever in the morning. He even declined to go to the cabin for +rest when the boys insisted that he ought to do so. + +"We'll get rest enough when we get down to the west river," the +captain smiled. "I can sleep in the woods." + +"That's just where we won't get any rest," Jule urged. + +"Huh," murmured Alex. "That's where I get my rest! The natives were so +afraid that I'd tire myself walking around that they trussed me up +like a hen. I'd just like to get a hold of some of those outlaws. +They're the limit--the worst I ever encountered." + +"What did they do to you?" asked Captain Joe. + +"Do to me?" repeated Alex. "Why, they had a stew, or a boiled dinner, +or something, cooking in a tin pail over a fire, and they wouldn't +give me a thing to eat. And that is the height of meanness!" + +As if repenting of the violence of the day before, and trying to make +restitution for the many blows at the sad old world, the weather that +morning was all that could have been desired. The air was clear and +sweet after its bath of rain, and the leaves of the forest sparkled +and rustled like jewels as the sun shone upon their moist surfaces. + +The boys made good time that day, although they did not feel inclined +to hurry. Alex took the canoe out in the forenoon and caught half a +dozen fish which he cleaned for dinner. The boy wanted to go ashore +and prepare the dinner a la Indian again, but the others insisted that +they really wanted a fish dinner, so the catch was baked in the oven +of the coal stove. The boys claim to this day that Alex consumed half +of the fish that he caught, but of course Alex disputes this. + +At sundown they anchored the _Rambler_ within four or five miles of +the west river, in a little bay which ran into the mainland almost +behind the westward extension of Cartier island. + +No lights were shown on the boat, supper having been prepared in the +dark, and the boys sat along the deck fighting mosquitoes and +listening to the calls of the wild creatures in the woods. + +The point they had selected for their anchorage was directly west of +Point aux Outardes, and when the moon rose the boys naturally turned +their eyes in that direction. Although the point was fully four miles +away, a rocky promontory could be seen standing sharply out against +the dark line of the forest. + +"Captain," Alex said, as they sat back of the gunwale on the prow, "I +wish you'd take this glass and see what you can discover on that +point." + +Captain Joe took the glass into his hand and held it for a long time, +swinging it back and forth over the shore to the north, and over the +river line of Cartier island. Then he handed it back to Alex. + +"I'll tell you," he said slowly, "there's a campfire over on the +point, and there are many people around it. At least I see figures +moving back and forth." + +"Perhaps that is a base of supplies for the fellows who are trying to +find the lost channel in order to beat Fontenelle to the charter and +the family jewels," Clay suggested. + +"It doesn't seem as if they would camp in so conspicuous a place." + +"Oh, I don't know about that," Case said, "they have nothing to fear +from officers or wreckers. They are only hunting for a lost treasure, +which any one may find who is lucky enough to get to it." + +"Let's go and call on them," suggested Alex. + +"I prefer to live a little longer," Case laughed. + +"Aw, come on, they won't hurt us," Alex argued, "I'm going." + +The boys laughed at the idea and Alex said no more about the proposed +excursion, but Clay suggested to Captain Joe after the others were in +their bunks: + +"We must watch that little rascal, or he'll get up in the night and +run over there. He's always doing tricks of that kind, and some time +he'll get into serious trouble." + +Captain Joe pretended to regard the situation as very serious, and +said that he would see that Alex didn't get away from the boat that +night. With this Clay seemed contented. The old captain insisted on +keeping watch again that night, but if the boys had been about the +deck they would have seen very little of him, for all that. + +As soon as the others were asleep, the captain untied the tow line of +the canoe, stepped softly into it, and paddled away in the direction +of the north shore. So far as possible he kept the bulk of the +_Rambler_ between himself and the point where the light had been seen. + +Reaching the margin of the bay, he turned to the east and paddled +straight to the mouth of the west river. After an hour of steady work, +he reached a point a little east and directly north of Point aux +Outardes. Nothing could be seen of the fire or the figures about it +from the north, and the captain boldly crossed the arm of the bay +stretching in behind Cartier island. In half an hour he was on the +island itself, and separated only by a few rods of mingled rocks and +bushes from the point. + +Advancing cautiously to the south he came within view of the blaze and +within hearing of much of the conversation going on there. + +The night hours passed slowly. The moon swung to the south and off to +the west, and the shadows lay long in the forest before the old +captain moved from his point of observation. Then with a chuckle he +crept back to his canoe, and long before the boys were out of their +bunks he was fishing over the gunwale of the _Rambler_ in the most +innocent manner imaginable. The old fellow chuckled as he dropped his +line. + +"That bay stretching in behind the peninsula," he mused, "looks to me +just as it did a good many years ago. No improvements seem to have +been made there notwithstanding the work of the surveyors, and the +country is just as desolate as it was then. If I had had a little more +time I might have paddled up to the mouth of the west river and looked +over the situation there, but daylight showed too soon." + +"What's that you're muttering about?" asked Alex clapping a hand on +the old captain's arm. "You must be talking in your sleep." + +"Not that any one knows of," chuckled the old captain. "I was only +saying that from here the country looks exactly as it used to." + +"And my stomach feels exactly as it used to," Alex declared. "You +catch the fish, and I'll cook 'em, and we'll tumble the boys out for +breakfast. They're sleeping too long, anyway." + +This program was followed to the letter, and before noon the _Rambler_ +lay up the west river about a mile from the bay creeping in behind +Cartier island. At first no one left the boat, however. + +"Do you remember what the chief of police said about Fontenelle's boat +and a lot of perfectly good provisions lying on the bottom of the +river?" asked Clay as the boys lounged on deck. + +"Indeed I do," replied Case. "I've been thinking it would be a fine +thing if we could find that boat." + +"I have found it!" Clay exclaimed. + +"Yes, you have!" Case said, doubtfully. + +"Sure, I have," Clay went on. "When we swung in past Point aux +Outarde, you were all watching the point to see what had become of the +men who camped there last night, while I was searching the bay on the +north side looking for some signs of the wreck of the _Cartier_." + +"And you found it, did you?" Case cried excitedly. + +"Sure, I found it," Clay declared. "It lays bottom down in about +fifteen feet of water, with the top of the cabin showing plainly." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IT IS NOW CLAY'S TURN + + +"Do you think we can raise her?" asked Case. + +"We can if she has any bottom left," declared Clay. "If they only cut +a few holes in her and sunk her that way, we can get her out." + +"Aw, what's the good of taking up time with the old wreck!" demanded +Alex, who had listened to the conversation. "It isn't our boat, +anyway." + +"But the _Cartier_ is a splendid launch, and worth a lot of money," +Clay suggested, "and we might pay the expenses of the trip by getting +her out for the Fontenelles. It won't do any harm to try." + +"All right!" Alex cried. "Just remember I'm the champion long distance +diver, when you get ready to go down and look her over." + +After breakfast the _Rambler_ was taken still farther upstream, as far +up, in fact, as the depth of the water would permit. + +"There!" Captain Joe observed, pointing to a bend just above the prow +of the boat. "This is the strange thing that I called your attention +to. The river widens here in the most mysterious manner." + +"It may be just back water," Clay ventured. + +"No sir!" answered the captain. "There is no back water here. See how +steadily the current runs? And there's no creek running in, either." + +"Then there must be a subterranean stream running--" + +Clay checked himself with the sentence half finished. + +"Suppose," he mused, "just suppose, there should be a subterranean +stream running in from under the hills--let us say from the north. +That would be a channel, wouldn't it? And it might be a lost channel +at that! Why didn't I think of that before." + +The boy was so full of the thought, so enthusiastic over the thing it +might mean, that he concluded to make a quiet investigation on his own +hook, saying nothing to the others regarding the matter. + +"What was it you said about some underground stream?" asked Captain +Joe. "You started in to say something about it and then stopped +abruptly." + +"Oh, it just occurred to me that there might be an underground river +somewhere around here, but I guess that's just a dream. There couldn't +be any river, you see, for the ground is rocky, and there seems to be +no place for an underground stream to get its supply." + +"No," the old captain agreed, "there can't be any underground stream +that's a sure thing. If there are caverns they are dry." + +Clay chuckled to himself, and went into the cabin after Alex. + +"Come on, Redhead!" he cried catching the boy by the arm. "We are now +going ashore to dig up the lost channel." + +"That's a nice pleasant little job, too!" Alex declared. + +"Well, come on," Clay insisted. "We'll go over and make a start, +anyway. We may be able to find out if the outlaws are really here." + +Explaining to Captain Joe and the others that they were going only a +short distance from the shore, the boys launched the canoe and were +soon on the sloping shore of the peninsula. Once across they hid their +canoe in a thicket which overhung the stream and disappeared in the +interior. + +"Now, look here," Clay said as he stopped and sat deliberately down in +the shade of a great tree, "I've got an idea." + +Alex stared hard in pretended wonder and amazement. + +"Where did you get it?" he asked. + +"Brain cell opened and gave it to me," Clay answered. + +"Well, come across with it," Alex urged. + +"Captain Joe wants to know where the water comes from to make the west +river so large at its mouth," Clay went on. "I started in to tell him +that there might be a subterranean stream somewhere hereabouts, but I +thought he would laugh at me and so kept my mouth shut." + +Alex sprang to his feet and swung round and round on his heels, +chuckling and shaking hands with himself. + +"That's the idea!" he cried. "That's just the idea! There is a +subterranean stream here somewhere! Look at the way the rocks are +piled up, and look at the long slope from the top of the ridges to the +level of the river. There are catch basins here somewhere, and water +pouring into the river that no one knows anything about." + +"Now go a little farther," Clay suggested. "Figure that at some time, +say two or three hundred years ago, this subterranean channel lay open +to the sun. Now what do you make of it?" + +"Holy smoke!" almost shouted Alex. "I make a lost channel!" + +"There you are!" Clay began, "and all we've got to do is to just look +around and find it. We've got plenty of time." + +"That will be some cheerful job, too," Alex commented. "We've only got +about forty thousand square miles of territory to look over." + +"I think," Clay said, "that we have the idea, and that is the main +thing. The rest is only a matter of detail." + +As the boys sat under the tree, Alex having dropped down to the turf +again, a rustling of bushes was heard to the east and they turned in +that direction, scanning the thicket closely. Then Alex seized Clay by +the arm and pointed away through the underbrush. + +"Did you ever see that figure before?" he asked. + +"Looks to me to be about the size of Max," Clay answered. "I wonder if +he is watching us, or whether he is only looking in the direction of +the _Rambler_. Anyway, we'd better move." + +The boys shifted their position some yards to the north and crouched +down again. The bushes showed motion once more, and they saw the +figure they had observed moving toward the bank of the west river. + +"He never saw us!" cried Alex. "He is sneaking down on the _Rambler_." + +"Yes," Clay replied, "and there are two or three just behind him." + +"I had an idea," Alex chuckled, "that things would begin to liven up +as soon as we got into this country. This will please Captain Joe!" + +"Captain Joe," Clay replied, "seems inclined to take things rather +seriously. The chances are that he is wondering now, night and day, +how four rattleheaded boys ever got so far over the world without +being murdered or sent to the penitentiary. Still, he isn't always +passing out advice." + +From their new shelter, the boys now saw Max and three men pass to the +west and stand under a screen of boughs looking down toward the +_Rambler_. + +"The war is on, I guess," Clay said. "Those fellows were here waiting +for us to come back. Did it ever occur to you that they know about our +having that mysterious map?" + +"Now you've said something," Alex exclaimed. "That map was intended +for those opposing the Fontenelles. It was given to us by mistake, and +the people who should have had it know that we've got it. That's why +they're watching us so. Wonder we never thought of that before." + +"It seems to me that you've struck it right," Clay answered. "They've +been waiting here all this time for us to come back it seems." + +"Then I should think they'd keep out of sight until we get busy +looking for the channel. They surely won't want to drive us away +before we demonstrate what we know about it." + +"I presume they think they are keeping out of sight," Clay decided. + +"Well, they're not keeping very close watch, for they don't seem to +know that we're on shore." + +"Don't be too sure of that," Clay answered. "They may be watching us +this minute. Perhaps we'd better move." + +As the boys spoke, Max and his three companions started at a swift +pace up the bank of the stream keeping always out of view of the boat. +They passed the place where the boys lay in hiding and for a moment +the lads heard them pushing through the underbrush. + +"They've probably gone to their tent now," Alex suggested, "and I'm +going to follow on and see if I can locate them." + +"All right," Clay said, "only be careful. I'll go back to the boat and +tell the boys what's going on. Be sure you don't get captured, now," +he added as Alex turned to the thicket to the north. + +"No danger of that," the boy grinned and the next moment he was out of +sight, pushing through the thicket in the direction taken by Max. + +Clay stood for an instant longer where the boy had left him and then +moved in the direction of the river. + +But his progress toward the stream came to an abrupt termination in a +minute. He tripped over what he at first believed to be a running vine +and fell to the ground. Then, as he lifted himself to a sitting +position, he saw the obstacle over which he had fallen was a rope and +that it was held in the hands of two evil looking men. + +The men, bearded and dirty, broke into a laugh over Clay's look of +amazement. They sprang toward him and in a moment he was relieved of +his weapons. The boy sat perfectly still, for the attack had come so +suddenly that he could hardly comprehend the situation. + +"Ain't it the cute little child?" guffawed one of the men, slapping +his knees and bending down to look the boy in the face. + +"He's all of that," replied the other. "This is the little boy that's +come out here to find a hidden channel that no one else can find. He +used to be a real cute little newsboy in Chicago, and directly he'll +wish he was back selling newspapers on Clark street! + +"Are these all the poppers you have, kid?" he asked pointing to the +revolvers which had been taken from the boy. "You might injure +yourself by carrying them." + +Clay glanced at the fellow steadily. He had now in a measure recovered +his equilibrium. His impulse was to smash a blow into the grinning +face bent over him. + +He didn't like the black, matted beard. He objected to the greasy, +frayed jacket. The man's snaky, near-set eyes offended him. More than +once he drew back a clenched fist to strike the evil face. + +"It seems to me," the boy said, restraining himself with a great +effort, "that I walked right into a den and found the snakes at home." + +"Yes, little one," the man replied, "We sort of dipped you up in a +bottle. I bet my chum, here, a dollar that he wouldn't get you the +first time he tried. I lose, so you'd better pass out the dough and +I'll pay up. I always pay my sporting debts." + +"Perhaps you'd better take the whole roll," Clay said, producing a +small handful of change and passing it over. "You'll get it in time, +anyway." + +The man took the money, counted it slowly with clumsy fingers and +thrust it into a pocket. + +"As long as you have money, you know," Clay said sneeringly, "you +won't have to be taking pennies away from children or stealing from +blind men. You're quite welcome to what I have." + +"You just cut that stuff quick," snarled the man rising to his feet, +his face blotching red. "Cut that quick!" + +He might have struck the boy only his companion drew him away. + +"Keep back, you fool," the cooler man said, "Do you want him to bring +all the others here with his yelping? Why, we can't even shoot him +till sundown, so we'd better gag him to keep him from squealing." + +"You needn't worry about me squealing," Clay said. "I learned how to +keep my mouth shut when you ruffians were serving your last sentence +in the penitentiary." + +One of the men drew out a knife and flashed it angrily before the +boy's face. + +"Keep a civil tongue in your head," he said, "and you, Ben, chase up +to the north and get the kid that followed Max. We'll tie 'em up +together." + +Clay was now drawn to his feet and his hands tied tightly behind his +back. In this condition, he was marched swiftly through the brush, +vines and boughs striking his unprotected face. He paid little +attention, however, to his physical discomforts. He was listening for +some indication of the capture of Alex. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +A SPLASH OF WATER + + +Much to Clay's amazement, his captor kept to the east following a +ridge of rocks from which both rivers might be seen in the distance +whenever the foliage did not intervene. After walking half a mile or +more, the fellow turned his steps into a narrow gully and soon entered +a natural cavern before which a campfire had been built. + +"Now, you pretty little creature," he said, addressing Clay, "you're +going to be tied up here and left until you return the map which was +given to you by mistake." + +"A map of what?" asked Clay instantly. + +"A map of this country," was the short reply. + +"I'm not giving out maps at present," the boy answered. + +"Perhaps you will be, after you get good and hungry," snarled the +other. + +"In the first place," Clay said, "I haven't got the map. I couldn't +get it for you if I wanted to. The boys wouldn't give it up." + +"So you admit that you've got it?" + +"I did have a rough drawing of this country," was the reply, "but it +didn't seem to mean much to me." + +"That's the document we want," the outlaw said, "and the quicker you +give it up and get out of this district, the safer your hide will be." + +Before Clay could make any response the man who had set off in pursuit +of Alex came wrathfully into the cave. One hand was bleeding +profusely, and there was a long cut on his left cheek. His clothing +was disarranged, showing every evidence of a physical struggle. + +"Where's the kid, Ben?" was asked. + +The man's reply was a volley of epithets and profanity. + +"You never let him get away from you, did you?" asked the other +angrily. "You might bring him in in your pocket." + +"You couldn't bring him in in a dray," answered Ben. "You might as +well try to wrestle with a bumble bee. I got a grip on the little +imp's collar, but before I could do a thing, he had a knife out. And +then I got this," laying a dirty finger on a dirtier hand, "and this," +pointing to the bleeding cheek. "And the next I knew, he was out of +sight in the jungle." + +"You're the brave boy!" snarled the other. + +"Look here, Steve," Ben said, "if you think it's such a fine stunt to +seize a Chicago newsboy, you just go and try it yourself. I've had +enough of it. And that's no fairy tale." + +Ben threw himself angrily on the floor of the cave, took a bottle of +liquor and a roll of white cloth from under a fur robe which lay in a +corner and proceeded to cleanse and bind up his wound. Clay watched +him with a smile on his face. Steve was scowling frightfully. + +"You needn't look so pleased over it, young feller," the outlaw said. +"We'll get that little imp, yet. And we'll get your boat and your +whole crew. And if we have much more trouble, we'll start a cemetery +right here." + +Clay made no reply at the time. He was wondering just how much the +outlaws knew of the map. It seemed to him that the person who had +drawn the first one might easily draw a second upon the loss of the +first. He could not understand why the outlaws were making such +strenuous efforts to secure the document when they might have procured +a copy. + +"What was it you said about a map?" the boy finally asked of Steve who +sat now scowling at Ben. "Where did the map come from?" + +"It came from a blooming Indian," was the sullen reply. + +The fellow answered the question so promptly that Clay decided that he +was merely a cheap tool in the employ of some master mind. + +"Well," the boy went on, "why are you bothering us about it? Why don't +you go and get him to make another?" + +Steve hesitated and Clay listened very impatiently indeed for his +answer. Finally the outlaw spoke: + +"Blest if I know," he said. "We were told to get the map and that's +all we know about it." + +"And if you can't get it?" asked Clay. + +"Then all we've got to do is to start a graveyard. If we can't get it, +no one else shall use it. Mind that!" + +"How long have you been waiting here for the _Rambler_ to come back +down the river?" asked the boy. + +"Look here," replied Steve, apparently regretting his previous +loquacity. "I've known a whole lot of boys to get along in the world +without asking so many questions." + +As he spoke he arose, went to the mouth of the cavern and glanced out. +Ben followed him with the one eye which was free of the bandage, but +did not arise. Directly a stone broke loose from a side of the gully +and went pounding down to the rocky bottom. Then a low whistle was +heard. + +"Come on in," shouted Steve. "We did our part. What about you?" + +The man who entered was roughly dressed. His face was covered by a +week's growth of beard. His long black hair hung straggly about his +ears. Yet, after all, the carriage of the head and body was not that +of a riverman. Clay sat looking at him for a long time wondering where +he had seen him before. He was certain that he had seen him before. +Strive as he might, however, the boy could not associate the figure +and pose with any scene in his past life. The man advanced into the +cave and looked about. + +"Where is the other boy?" he asked sharply. + +Steve threw out a hand to indicate flight and snapped his fingers +significantly. The newcomer frowned. + +"And so you let him get away, did you?" + +"Ask Ben about that," Steve replied, pointing to the bandaged face. + +In spite of the newcomer's evident disappointment, a smile came to his +face as he looked toward the wounded man. + +"He's a bloomin' bumble bee!" growled Ben. + +"And it seems that he stung you with steel," said the newcomer. "Brave +men you are, to let a kindergarten kid get away with you!" + +"What I say is," Ben answered, angrily, "that you can go and get him +yourself. This here beauty mark I've got is enough for me." + +"Don't get excited," smiled the newcomer. "It will all come out right +in the wash. We'll get them all, in time." + +Clay began to remember the voice. + +"I have heard it before somewhere," he mused. "This man is not an +outlaw in the common acceptance of the word. He is probably the man +having this very delectable enterprise in charge." + +Then he remembered the scene on the street in Montreal, and the story +which had been told him by the campfire up the St. Lawrence came back +to his mind. + +This man might be the Lawyer Martin who had been referred to by the +farmer. The lawyer, it had been stated, was apt in private theatricals +and of pleasing personality. This man was disguised so far as clothing +went, and his conversation showed that he was tactful and understood +how to keep on the right side of the men with whom he mingled. + +The more the boy studied over the problem, the more certain he became +that the man who was handling the unlawful enterprise, designing to +keep the Fontenelles out of their rights stood before him. + +Presently Lawyer Martin, if it was he, turned a pair of keen yet +half-humorous eyes in the direction of the boy. + +"Did you have a pleasant trip up the river?" he asked. + +"Fine!" replied Clay. "Plenty of good sport." + +"If you had asked my advice," the other said, "you would have +proceeded straight up the lakes from Ogdensburg. It would have been +safer." + +"If safety was the only thing we figured on when we started away," the +boy answered, "we wouldn't have started at all. We would have remained +at home and gone to bed." + +"You seem to be quite a bright boy," the other suggested. "Why don't +you give up the map turned over to you by mistake, and go on about +your business? That's what you ought to do." + +"Why don't you get another map?" asked Clay. + +"Because," was the reply, "the old Indian who made the one you have +was drowned on the night he turned it over to you." + +"I'll tell you what I'll do," Clay said, "you come on board the +_Rambler_ with me and we'll give the map to Captain Joe, and then +we'll all go together and deliver it to Fontenelle. It seems to belong +to him." + +"I think you'll change your mind," replied the other. + +After a short whispered conversation with Steve and Ben, the man left +the cavern. Clay would have given a good deal for some knowledge as to +his objective point. He believed that the outlaws had a base of +supplies other than the cavern on the peninsula, and he was wondering +if the boys on the _Rambler_ would be able to discover it. + +After a time Ben began drinking from the bottle of liquor he had drawn +from under the rug, and Steve, seeing that the fellow was drinking +himself into insensibility, left the cave, first seeing that Clay was +tied hand and foot and gagged with one of his own handkerchiefs. + +The boy's position was an uncomfortable one. He moved restlessly +about, rolling toward the entrance as if in quest of fresh air. Ben +arose and stood watching him drunkenly. + +"You're not so worse," the fellow cried. "If I had my way, I'd get out +of this mix mighty quick. I'm a kind-hearted man, kid! The drunker I +get, the kinder I am." + +Clay was on the point of suggesting that he drink the remainder of the +liquor in the bottle, so that he might be kind enough to untie him, +but did not do so for obvious reasons. + +The boy was in hopes that Ben would become too intoxicated to pay any +attention to his movements, but he did not do so. Instead, he filled a +cob pipe with villainous tobacco and sat down at the entrance to the +cavern within a few feet of where the boy lay. + +During all this time, the boy was wondering if Alex had gone back to +the _Rambler_ or whether he had trailed on after the men who had +attempted his capture. In the latter case, the boy was evidently not +very far away. He listened intently for some indication of the boy's +presence, but none came. He wondered if the boys on the _Rambler_ +would make an effort to find him before night set in. + +And so, gagged and bound, he spent a long, painful day. No one came to +the cave, and Ben was his sole guardian. The man became talkative +after a while and discussed the streets of Chicago, which he seemed to +know well, but became silent whenever an incautious word regarding the +present situation came to his lips. + +When darkness came, Steve and two more burly ruffians made their +appearance. They uncovered a box at the back of the cavern and, +reaching in, drew out bread and canned fruit and vegetables. As the +four sat feeding like a drove of swine, Ben observed Clay's eyes fixed +hungrily on the food. + +"Why don't you give the boy some of the chuck?" he asked, angrily. + +"Here, kid," he added, taking the handkerchief from Clay's mouth, +releasing his hands, and passing him a loaf of bread and tin of beef, +"just help yourself to this table d'hote dinner." + +Steve and the others snarled out their objections to this procedure, +but Clay was finally left to eat his scanty supper in peace. + +After the men had finished eating, they arose and threw their cans and +bottles into a shallow annex to the cave on the south. + +"I'm great for keeping things in order," grinned Ben, giving a tin +tomato can a particularly vigorous kick. "I always like to see things +kept decent." + +The can bounded against the wall, fell to the floor and rolled down a +dark incline, and Clay's heart beat into his throat as he heard the +splash of water. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +LIFTING A SUNKEN LAUNCH + + +After the departure from the _Rambler_ of Clay and Alex, Captain Joe +began exploring the little store rooms of the craft in search of +cables and grappling hooks. He soon had quite a collection laying on +the deck. + +"What's the idea, Captain Joe?" asked Case. + +"Well, boys," the captain replied, "you remember what the Quebec chief +of police said regarding the _Cartier_ and the perfectly good +assortment of supplies lying at the bottom of the St. Lawrence river?" + +"Sure, we remember that," Case replied. + +"And you remember what Clay said about having discovered the boat as +we came in? Why, he told us right where it is." + +"Yes, he said he saw it on the bottom," Jule interrupted. + +"Now, I have an idea," Captain Joe smiled, winking at the two boys, +"that it would be all right for us to lift the launch while Clay is +away. What do you say to that?" + +"Great idea!" shouted Case. + +"Then let's get at it," Jule suggested. + +"The first thing to do," Captain Joe said, "is to find out exactly +where the _Cartier_ lies." + +"Aw, I know that," Jule said, "Clay told me about that. It's right +over there in about fifteen feet of water just below that submerged +bar." + +"Fifteen feet with or without the tide?" asked Captain Joe. + +"Fifteen feet with the tide out," was the reply, "and the tide is out +now, so we'd better be getting busy." + +They swung the _Rambler_ over to the north side of the bar and +anchored. From this new position, across the white surface of the +bottom, they could see the trunk cabin of the _Cartier_ sitting +squarely up in the water. The boat had evidently dropped straight down +when scuttled, and she now lay on an almost even keel with her nose +pointing upstream. + +"Now, I tell you, boys," Captain Joe observed, "one of you must go +down and attach a line to her forward towing bitts. I'd go down +myself, understand, only I'm so big and clumsy that I might displace +too much water in the stream. Who'll go?" + +"I'm the champion diver of the South Branch," Jule cried, "and I'll go +down and have that line fast in about a second." + +"It's a long dive," warned Captain Joe. + +"I've stood on my head in deeper water than that," said the boy. + +Case got out the rowboat and Jule was taken over to the place from +which he was to dive. The end of the cable was passed to him and he +dropped down. In a moment, he came climbing up the rope like a young +monkey, shaking water over Case as he tumbled into the boat. + +"Now get a-going," he said, "and we'll have this boat out of the mud +before Clay and Alex return. I wonder what we'll find on board of +her." + +"You don't expect to find a lost channel, do you? Or a casket of +family jewels?" asked Case, with a wink. + +"I was thinking," Jule replied, "that we might find something to eat." + +The boys rowed back to the _Rambler_, clambered on board, and the +motor boat was started forward, one end of the cable attached to her +after deck cleats. She pulled steadily for a moment under full power, +but the launch refused to move. She was evidently deeply imbedded in +the bottom. + +"I reckon we'll have to go down and push," Case grinned. + +"You just wait, boys, and I'll try it once more," Captain Joe said. + +The second attempt was successful, and the _Cartier_ was drawn slowly, +carefully, to the bar. When she left her original position on the +bottom of the river, she listed to one side and so came in almost on +her beam ends. + +"I guess we've spilled some of her crockery," Jule laughed as the boat +showed one side of her hull. "Fontenelle may kick on our wearing out +his furniture." + +"Oh, he'll be glad enough to get his boat back," Captain Joe remarked. +"Now, we'll see if we can pump her out." + +The launch now lay tipping only slightly on the bar, her keel having +cut into the soft sand, with her gunwales two or three inches above +the surface of the river. The cabin stood well out of the river, of +course, but the great body of water in the cockpit and over the cabin +floor held her down. + +"Now we'll see if we can't pump her out," Captain Joe said. "I don't +understand what sent her to the bottom. She looks to be as fit as a +fiddle." + +"Perhaps we can tell that when we get the water out of her," Case +suggested. "There may be a big hole in her bottom." + +The _Rambler's_ pump was now put in operation, but the interior of the +launch remained full of water. The river rushed in as fast as the +pumps removed it, so the craft did not rise to the surface. + +"You'll have to get your feet wet again, Jule," Case said. "Just drop +over into the cockpit and see if you can see any hole in the bottom." + +Jule did as requested, floundering and splashing about in the water as +though he considered the enterprise only a bit of fun. + +"Nothing doing here!" he shouted back. "There's no hole in the bottom +that I can see. There may be one under the double floor in the cabin +but I don't believe it." + +"Look for the sea-cock," cried Captain Joe, leaning over the gunwale +of the _Rambler_. "It may have been opened. It ought to be right there +in the cockpit close to the wall of the cabin." + +Jule felt around in the water for a time, ducked his head under in +order to get closer to the bottom now and then and finally raised his +dripping face with a shout. + +"I've found it!" he cried. "The sea-cock was wide open and that's what +sunk the launch." + +"Wonder Fontenelle wouldn't have investigated," said Case. + +"The launch was probably sunk in the night," Captain Joe suggested, +"when the members of the party were away. When they returned to the +boat, of course, they had no grappling apparatus or anything to help +raise her, and so they just went away and left her in the mud." + +"That's probably it," Case said, turning on the pump. + +"Hold on," Jule cried. "You wait till I get something to plug this +sea-cock with. I can't turn the valve. It's rusty." + +The boy was given a basket of waste which had been used in cleaning +the motors, and in a short time the sea-cock was securely plugged. + +Then the pumps were set in motion again and in a very short time the +_Cartier_ was virtually free of water. + +"That's a mighty handsome boat," Captain Joe observed as the launch +lay on the surface. "If I had her down on the South Branch, I could +have the time of my life every day in the week." + +The boys worked over the boat for some time drying off the woodwork +and fixing the valve of the sea-cock so it would close. + +"Of course, she won't run now," Captain Joe explained, "because the +batteries and the magneto are soaked with water. We can transfer new +apparatus from the _Rambler_ and, as she has plenty of gasoline, she +will go like a duck on a mill-pond." + +"I guess Clay will think we have been going some to get that boat off +the bottom," laughed Case. + +Captain Joe looked at his watch, his face clouding as he did so. + +"Why, look here," he said. "We've been a long time on this job. It is +after one o'clock." + +"We might have known that by the tide coming in," Case said. + +"I wasn't thinking about the water," the captain laughed. "I was +thinking about Clay and Alex. Now, where do you suppose those two +scamps are? They ought to have been here long ago." + +"Perhaps they've found the lost channel!" Jule put in. + +"It is more likely they found a nest of outlaws they couldn't get away +from," was Case's idea of the situation. "I think we ought to do +something about it right now," he added. + +"I am afraid," Captain Joe said, poking a stubby finger into Case's +side, "that it takes you boys about half your time to find each other +when you go off on these river trips. First one gets lost and then the +other." + +"That's all right," Case replied, "but every time a fellow gets lost +he butts into valuable information. Clay may pick up those Fontenelle +diamonds while he's gone, or find the lost charter." + +"It's up to us to do something," Jule insisted. "After dinner, we'll +go out on the peninsula and see what we can discover if Captain Joe +will remain on the boat. We won't be gone long." + +Dinner was hastily prepared and hastily eaten, and then Case and Jule +rowed to the shore in the _Rambler's_ boat, the canoe having been left +on the bank by Clay. The captain saw them disappear in the thicket and +then sat down in the cabin to watch and wait. + +In less than half an hour, he heard shouts on the shore, and then two +figures came plunging down the high bank into the river some distance +above the location of the _Rambler_. + +The captain reached for his gun and stood waiting, fearful at first +that a bold attempt to board the _Rambler_ was being made, but as the +two figures in the water came closer, he saw Case and Jule alternately +swimming on the surface and diving. The reason for this apparently +strange conduct on the part of the boys was soon discovered, for +bullets began whistling about their heads and about the deck of the +_Rambler_. + +However, the swimmers reached the deck of the boat unharmed and +dropped down behind the gunwales. + +"Use your gun, Captain Joe!" Case panted. "Alex is back there in the +woods trying to get to the river." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +DOWN IN THE WHIRLPOOL + + +When Clay heard the splash of water as the tin can disappeared from +sight, he began wondering if what he had heard had reached the ears of +the others. The lost channel was always in his mind, and he was +wondering if the presence of a subterranean body of water there could +have any connection with the channel which had disappeared as if by +magic two or three hundred years before. + +In order to settle the question as to what the outlaws knew concerning +the water which must lie directly under their cave, he asked: + +"Will some of you men give me a drink of water?" + +"Aw, go take a drink out of the river," was the reply he received. + +"Gladly!" cried Clay. "Just untie my feet and I'll show you how +quickly I can get to the river." + +The men laughed heartily at what they considered a good joke and +continued their preparations for leaving the cavern. In a short time +the man believed by Clay to be Lawyer Martin made his appearance, and +then the party started up the gully turning to the east and walking +over the roughest territory Clay had yet seen in that vicinity. The +leader of the party paused now and then to inspect the landscape and +to listen for sounds from the west river. + +"What were your friends doing this afternoon," he asked presently. +"They have dug up a new boat somewhere." + +"I don't know," replied Clay, stumbling over the ground with two husky +guards close to his sides. "Was it my friends who were doing the +shooting?" he added. + +"Shooting?" the leader repeated in apparent amazement. "Did you hear +any shooting? Which way did it come from?" + +"From the west," was the brief reply. + +Clay's escorts glanced at each other significantly, but said nothing. +The boy was satisfied from the attitude of those about him that his +chums had been attacked, but, as a matter of fact, he had heard no +shooting, being at the time it took place in the cavern opening from +the gully. + +After what seemed to Clay to be an endless journey, the party came to +the west shore of the east river. Here, in the glade to the north of +the rocky ledge which they had followed, was a fairly comfortable camp +with tents and bunks and plenty of cooking appurtenances. + +Clay was pushed into a tent and his hands and feet bound again. + +"We can't take any chances on your jumping us in the night," the +leader said as he saw the ropes adjusted around the boy's ankles and +wrists. "If you only had a little sense, we might make you more +comfortable." + +Time and again Clay had the name of Lawyer Martin on his lips. He was +almost positive that the leader of the outlaws was the disguised man +he had met in Montreal, the man of whom the farmer had spoken at the +campfire. However, he conquered the inclination to address the fellow +by the title which he believed to belong to him. + +"If he really is Lawyer Martin," the boy reasoned, "and I let him know +that I know the truth, he'll take good care that I never get out into +the world again to tell of his connection with these outlaws." + +That night was a long one for the boy. One of the outlaws walked +watchfully about the camp all night and another sat close by his bunk +watching with unwearying eyes. It was plain that they considered his +capture of great importance. He reasoned that it was because they had +failed in any attack that might have been made on his chums, and had +not succeeded in securing the map they sought. + +He did not know whether Alex had escaped the clutches of the ruffians +or not, but he believed that if the boy really had been taken prisoner +he would have been brought to the camp he himself occupied. + +The camp was astir at daybreak, when most of the outlaws disappeared +from view, going in every direction except across the river. Clay +would have given a good deal for exact information regarding their +plans for the day, but he could only surmise that all their energies +would be directed toward the destruction of the _Rambler_ and the +driving away of his chums. + +While he lay pondering over the possibilities of the day, the leader +of the party came to his side. + +"How do you feel this morning, my boy?" he asked lightly. + +"I feel like I'd like to stretch my legs a little," was the reply. + +"If I gave you the privilege," asked the other, "will you promise to +make no attempt to escape?" + +"I'm not making any promises," Clay replied, "so I suppose I'll have +to remain where I am." + +"But you can't get away," the leader insisted. + +"How do you know I can't get away?" replied Clay, laughing up into the +man's face. + +"Because we've got you tied hard and fast," was the reply. + +"I've read in the papers," the leader went on, "about this Captain Joe +bulldog of yours and this Teddy bear cub doing wonderful things in the +way of helping you boys out of trouble, but they are up against the +impossible here." + +"I'm sorry," Clay said with a shrug of the shoulders, "but you know +just as well as I do that no game is ever played out as it should be +until the last card is on the table." + +The leader smiled whimsically and turned away. After talking for some +moments with the only man present in the camp, he turned to the west +and disappeared. Then the man he had last talked with approached the +boy. + +"What do you want for breakfast?" he asked. + +"Pie!" roared Clay. "Green apple pie, red apple pie, dried apple pie, +and pie pie. And if you've got any chicken pie, that will come in all +right later on." + +"Your troubles don't seem to affect your appetite, kid," laughed the +man whom Clay discovered to be the cook of the camp. "You're a jolly +kind of a fellow, anyway, and I'm going to give you the best there is +in the larder." + +In half an hour a really good breakfast of ham and eggs, potatoes, +bread and butter, and coffee was served to the boy. He ate heartily, +of course, as most boys will under any circumstances, talking with the +cook as the meal proceeded. + +Directly the leader came to the edge of the little glade and beckoned +to the cook. The latter looked from his employer to the boy and back +again. The leader beckoned imperatively, and the cook left the tent +and approached him. Together they stepped away into the edge of the +thicket and engaged in an animated conversation. + +Clay heard the leader ask if the ropes which held his hands and feet +were still in place, and heard the cook reply that he supposed they +were as he had not examined them. + +"Just for the fun of the thing, now," Clay mused, "I'll find out +whether that chap is right." + +He pulled away at the cords on his wrist, but for a long time was +unable to move them beyond the limit of the motion which had enabled +him to use a fork at his breakfast. + +"I wonder," he thought, "why they didn't give me a knife to eat that +ham with. Never mind, I can make a knife of my own." + +He set his elbow against an earthen plate which lay on the ground, +breaking it into several pieces. The largest fragment, he got into his +mouth and began to saw his wrist ropes against it. The strands of the +rope soon gave way and the boy's hands were free. It took him but a +moment to untie the cords which held his ankles. + +Thus released, he listened for a moment to make sure that the two men +in the edge of the thicket were not observing him. All was still in +that direction and he finally ventured to the opening of the tent and +looked out. The two men were nowhere in sight. + +"Now or never," thought the boy. "While those fellows are cooking up +some scheme for the destruction of the _Rambler_, I'll make a quiet +sneak. The peninsula must be crowded with outlaws, all in search of a +lost channel, and so I'll have to take to the river." + +The boy was out of the glade in an instant, crouching low, of course, +but making good time until he reached the margin of the river. Hoping +to see a boat, he paused there a moment and looked about. As he did +so, the roar of the falls which had obstructed the progress of the +_Rambler_ on her first trip to that vicinity, reached his ears and he +knew that a boat would be practically useless, as it would never live +through the falling water. The only thing for him to do, seemed to be +to take to the water and keep as much out of sight as possible under +the bank. + +He sprang in and struck out down stream wondering if he could pass the +falls without returning to the shore. After swimming a few strokes, he +heard a shout from the bank and saw the leader and the cook hastening +toward the river. The current was strong there just above the falls +and the boy was an excellent swimmer, so the men did not decrease the +distance between themselves and their quarry. + +"If you don't stop, we'll shoot!" the cook cried. + +"And shoot to kill!" came the voice of the leader. + +For a moment Clay swam on blindly under a rain of bullets but he had +no idea whatever of voluntarily returning to the shore. The leaden +pellets splashed into the water all about him for a time but presently +as the men got better range, they began making closer acquaintance. + +The roar of the falls was now almost deafening. The boy could hear a +torrent of water pouring down upon broken rocks. He knew now that it +would be impossible for him to negotiate the falls by way of the +river. He must swim to the shore and pass around the danger point. +This would subject him to the direct fire of his pursuers. + +At last, almost hopeless, he dived into the water to escape the rain +of bullets. To his surprise, he did not come to the surface again when +he used his strength in that direction. + +Either his body had lost its buoyancy or the water was pulling him +down. He seemed to be in a whirlpool. The force of the water drew at +his arms and his legs and clutched him about the chest. Around and +around he whirled, until he grew dizzy with the motion and his lungs +seemed bursting for want of air. + +Then, almost unconscious, he knew that he was being drawn through an +opening into which the water poured with awful force. He knew that he +was being tossed to and fro in something like a basin or pool a moment +later, and felt the fresh air creeping into his lungs. + +The water where he lay did not seem to be more than three or four feet +deep but the current was swift and steady. There was no light +anywhere. The boy groped forward with his hands outstretched until he +came to what seemed to be a ledge of rock. There, exhausted and almost +unconscious from his exertions, he dropped down and his mind became a +blank. + +When he returned to consciousness, a single shaft of light penetrating +the darkness of the place showed him to be in a cavern the dimensions +of which he had no means of knowing. The ledge upon which he had +fallen lay a yard or so above the surface of an underground stream. He +could see the light glancing on the water and hear the roar of the +whirlpool which had brought him into this subterranean place. + +"I've found the lost channel, I guess," he thought bitterly, "and I +guess there'll be two of us lost--a lost river and a lost boy." + +After a time, he felt his way along the ledge only to find that it +came to an abrupt termination against a shoulder of rock. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +WHAT THE EDDY BROUGHT UP + + +When Case and Jule gained the deck of the _Rambler_, crying that Alex +was back in the forest pursued by the outlaws, Captain Joe laid out a +choice assortment of automatic revolvers along the deck behind the +starboard gunwale. The dripping boys crouched down and waited. + +"He wasn't very far behind us," Case said directly. + +"Yes," Jule put in. "He ought to be here before long." + +Captain Joe, watching the boys whimsically, pushed the revolvers +around so they would be within easy reach. The deck looked like an +armory. + +"You outrun him, did you, lads?" the old captain asked. + +"We wanted to stay back and come in with him," Case explained, "but he +wouldn't have it. He said that if we separated and ran in different +directions, one party would be pretty sure to get in, while we might +all be captured if we stuck together. He was right, of course, but we +hated to leave him. He ought to be here in a minute or two." + +"Did he say where Clay was?" asked Captain Joe. + +"We didn't have much chance to talk with him," Case answered. "The +outlaws were swarming over the peninsula, and kept us ducking and +dodging most of the time. There must be a dozen or more toughs in +there." + +There was no more firing from the shore for a time, and those on board +the _Rambler_ hoped that Alex had succeeded in eluding his pursuers. + +Presently the bushes at the margin of the stream parted and a face +looked out--a heavy bearded face with fierce eyes. + +"Good evening, pard!" Jule called out. "Come aboard!" + +The fellow disappeared without making any reply. + +"That settles it!" Case exclaimed. "We won't see Alex right away. The +outlaws haven't caught him, and so they are watching along the shore +in the hopes of picking him up when he leaves the thicket. I'd like to +throw a stick of dynamite in there and blow up the whole outfit." + +The supposition that Alex would not be seen at that time proved to be +incorrect, however, for a shout was now heard from the launch, and +Alex was seen waving a cap from the cockpit. + +The cap soon disappeared from sight, however, for bullets began +dropping down from the shore. On the _Rambler_, the boys were behind +the heavy gunwales, and Alex was hidden by the cockpit walls so, +beyond splintering the railings and making havoc in the +finely-decorated cabin of the launch, the bullets did no damage. + +"Now, how do you think that little customer got out to the launch +without getting perforated?" asked Case. + +"He swam out, of course," replied Jule, "--he just ducked under and +swam out. I wish we could get him on board the _Rambler_." + +"Now, that tow-line," Case said, "is too long. The boy can't swim +under water all that distance. Can't we pull the launch up?" + +"Nothing in the world to prevent it," said Captain Joe. "If we can get +the end of the line into the cabin, the launch will come up like a +duck. Then Alex can come aboard without much danger." + +This plan was adopted. The _Cartier_ was easily drawn up to the stern +of the _Rambler_ and Alex stepped aboard. + +In a moment he was lying behind the gunwale with the others. + +"Where did you say Clay was?" asked Captain Joe. + +"I haven't seen him for a long time," was the reply. "We saw that +wharf rat, Max, in the forest and I started away to follow him. At +that time Clay was coming toward the boat. I thought he might be +here." + +"And so Max has shown up again, has he?" cried Case. "We'll have to +land that boy where he won't be so active." + +While the boys were discussing the situation a grating, flopping sound +was heard in the cabin, and Jule rushed in just in time to see the +cable which had held the _Cartier_ to the _Rambler_ drawing through +the open window. In the excitement of getting Alex on board, the boys +had neglected to secure the line and the launch was now dropping down +stream. + +Jule sprang for the end of the line, but did not reach it. It dropped +down to the after deck and was drawn into the water. + +"That's a nice thing!" shouted the boy, rushing to the motors. "Now +we've got to go down and catch that boat!" + +It was some moments before the anchor could be lifted and the +_Rambler_ turned and sent down stream, so the _Cartier_ was halfway to +the little bay running in behind the Peninsula before the boys caught +up with her. + +"She won't get away again," Captain Joe declared shortening up the +line and making it fast to the after deck cleats of the motor boat. +"We haven't got any time to go chasing runaway launches!" + +As the old captain spoke, Case laid a hand on his arm and pointed to +the projection on the peninsula behind which Captain Joe had listened +on the night he had left the _Rambler_ during his watch. + +"There's a blaze over there," the boy said. "They must have a lot of +men here to keep a force over there and another one between the two +rivers." + +"Young man," Captain Joe replied, "the man who is responsible for this +whole mix-up is over there on the point, with a band of cutthroats." + +"Why don't they go up and help the others?" asked Jule. + +"It's just this way," Captain Joe replied, "we disappointed them very +much when we got the _Cartier_ out of the water. That rascal on the +point wanted to have the pleasure of raising the boat himself." + +"Then why didn't he do it?" asked Alex. "He had time enough before we +got here." + +"I don't know why he didn't," answered the captain, "but he didn't, +and now he's sore because we got to it first. It seems to me that he +might have ordered his wrecking apparatus here and got the boat out +before we arrived." + +"What do you think he wants of the launch?" Case asked. "According to +all accounts, he's rich enough to buy a dozen." + +"I can tell you about that," Captain Joe replied with a grin. "You +remember when I stood watch one night, and you all said I looked +sleepy the next day. Well, that night, I paddled over to the point and +heard what those people were talking about. There is something on +board the _Cartier_ they want. I couldn't understand exactly what they +said about it, but it is something in some way connected with a safe." + +"The safe on the wall in the lost channel!" laughed Alex. "They think +Fontenelle knows how to get to the safe if he can only get to the lost +channel first." + +"Well, we got to the launch first, anyway," Jule suggested. "And it +strikes me that we'd better go aboard and look her over. Did you see +anything remarkable when you were there, Alex?" he added. + +"Didn't see a thing," was the reply. "I flopped out of the water into +the cockpit and never even looked inside the cabin. I wish now that I +had." + +"Come on, then, let's you and I take a look through the cabin while +Captain Joe and Case run the _Rambler_ back to her old position," Jule +suggested. + +The two boys sprang down into the cockpit, paused a moment to get +their balance and opened the cabin door. As they did so, a scrambling +noise was heard inside, and both were knocked nearly off their feet as +a body launched against them, turned to the railing and shot over into +the river. + +From his position on the deck where he had been thrown by the impact +of the collision, Alex looked up at Jule with a whimsical smile on his +face. + +"Did you see that?" he asked. + +"I felt it," Jule replied, rubbing his head. + +"What did it feel like?" asked Alex + +"Like a battering ram," was the reply. + +"Well," Alex said, "it might have been a battering ram, but it looked +to me like Max, and it's dollars to apples that he caused the +_Cartier_ to start downstream. A few pulls from the water would have +started the line running out." + +"That's just it!" Jule exclaimed. "That's exactly the idea!" + +Captain Joe now leaned over the gunwale of the _Rambler_ and cried +out: + +"Which one of you boys fell overboard?" + +"That was Max," Alex replied. "He's been here in the cabin of the +launch for nobody knows how long, ransacking the lockers and +destroying papers. He must have come aboard about as soon as it was +lifted out of the water. The scamp certainly keeps busy, anyway." + +Captain Joe passed over to the launch, and a long search was made +through the owner's secretary and the drawers and boxes containing +documents. The papers were wet, of course, and many of them were badly +torn, but the purport of each was by no means doubtful. The great mass +consisted of bills, newspaper clippings, personal letters and the +hundred and one memoranda made by the captain and owner of a pleasure +launch. + +"I guess we'll have to give it up," the captain said, after a time. +"There's one good thing about it, and that is that Max didn't meet +with any more success than we did." + +"How do you know?" asked Case. + +"Because," answered the Captain, "he would have been off the boat +before we ever got to it." + +"Perhaps he wasn't here as long as you think he was," Alex put in. +"Clay and I saw him up in the woods when we first went ashore." + +The papers were spread out neatly and left to dry, and everything in +the drenched cabin placed in as good shape as possible. Then the boys +all returned to the _Rambler_, now nearing her old position in the +west river. + +Much to the surprise of all on board, there were no signs of the +outlaws when the boat came to her old anchorage. Night was falling and +there were no indications of hostile influences anywhere. Before +darkness settled down over the scene, the boys drew the _Rambler_ a +little farther up the stream and prepared to pass a watchful and +anxious night. + +Alex proposed that he go ashore with the bulldog and make an effort to +find Clay, but the proposition was instantly vetoed by the others. + +"You'll get lost yourself," Case declared, "and we'd have two boys to +look up instead of one. I think we'd better all stay on the boat." + +"And that's good sense, too," Captain Joe put in. "Clay knows where we +are, and he'll come to us if he can get away. If he doesn't come +during the night, we'll get out after him in the morning." + +"He may be waiting for darkness," Case suggested. "In that case, he +ought to be here soon. He must be hungry." + +"He surely will, and we'll keep supper waiting for him in this cabin +all night," said Alex "When the outlaws had me pinched, they didn't +give me anything to eat. I'll get even for that!" + +The night passed slowly, drearily, and Clay did not come. As the +reader understands, all through the dark hours, the boy lay bound in a +tent not far from the west shore of the east river. + +Shortly after daylight, breakfast being over, the boys began planning +for a visit to the shore. + +The canoe and the rowboat were both on the bank still in plain sight. + +"You swim over and get the boats, Jule," Case said. "You haven't had +as many open air baths as we have since we started on this trip." + +"Now, boys," interposed Captain Joe, "I wouldn't touch those boats if +I were you. If there are any outlaws in those woods at all, they're +watching those boats. The first boy that swims up to one of them will +be captured." + +"Then we've all got to swim," declared Case ruefully. + +"We're getting used to it this time," cried Alex + +"I don't believe there's any one over there," Jule said. "They +wouldn't keep still so long." + +"I notice that you don't get your head up above the gunwale very +often," Alex laughed. + +"Look here, boys," Captain Joe said, pointing out of the cabin window. +"Here's a place where the river widens without any good excuse for +doing so. I talked to Clay about that, and his idea was that an +underground stream runs in in this vicinity. Now, your eyes are better +than mine. Look upstream and see if you can observe any current which +might be made by the flowing in of a subterranean river." + +"You're all right, Captain Joe," Case exclaimed. "You can't forget +that lost channel any more than we can." + +"I don't know whether there's a lost channel or not," the captain +replied, "but I do know that there's a fresh supply of water coming +into this stream right about here." + +Case took a field glass and looked up the stream. + +"There surely is a current starting in close to that bank," he finally +said. "I can see sticks and bubbles popping up from the bottom. +There's a spring there, all right." + +Alex took the glass and studied the river for a long time. Then he +seized Captain Joe by the shoulder and pointed. + +"Say," he said, "there's a nude body coming up out of that eddy Case +saw. You can see it under the water, drifting down this way." + +The boy dropped the glass clattering on the deck and sprang into the +water. + +"Here, here, boy! Come back!" cried Captain Joe. + +"It's Clay!" shouted Jule. "Can't you see it's Clay!" + +In a moment, Jule was in the water, too, and both boys were diving +after the figure they had seen in the eddy. + +They caught it in a moment, and managed to get it to the boat. Captain +Joe and Case supplied ropes, and in an incredibly short space of time, +Clay lay stretched out on the deck. + +"He's dead!" cried Alex "I just know he's dead!" + +"They stripped him of his clothes and threw him in!" wailed Jule. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE LOST CHARTER IS FOUND + + +An instant after being laid on the deck, however, Clay opened his eyes +and smiled up into the faces of his friends. + +"He'll be saying, 'Where am I?' in a minute!" Alex cried, dancing +joyfully about the prostrate figure. "That is the usual thing in +stories, you know. He'll have to say, 'Where am I?' and I'll have to +tell him that he mustn't talk. Look at him grin." + +"What gets me," Captain Joe said, lifting the boy into a sitting +position, "is how you came up from the bottom of the river without +ever diving down to it. It looks uncanny." + +"The lost channel!" answered Clay weakly. + +"You found it, did you?" asked Alex. + +"Boys, boys," said Captain Joe, "never mind the lost channel until we +get this boy dressed and fed up." + +The processes suggested by the captain were quickly accomplished, and +in a short time, Clay sat in the cabin telling of the adventures of +the morning. The boys listened wide-eyed. + +"Now let me get this thing right," Captain Joe said. "You went into a +whirlpool above the falls and came out into a cavern?" + +"That's just it, exactly," Clay replied, still weak from his +exertions. "I landed on a ledge, where I lay unconscious for a few +moments and then followed down the channel of the underground river. +There is plenty of room in the cavern," he continued, "and plenty of +fresh air, but the place is shy on light. I fell many times in the +darkness." + +"I thought it wasn't safe for me to be in there!" grinned Alex. + +"I thought it wasn't safe for me be in there!" Clay replied with a +wink, "and so I made my way out as swiftly as I could. At this end of +the channel, the water runs out just below the surface of the west +river, and I thought I'd better reduce my weight as much as possible +before going through the opening, so I took off my clothes and was +pushed out by the current." + +"Looked mighty funny to see you come floating out of the river without +ever having gone in!" laughed Jule. + +"Now, boys," said Captain Joe, after the boys had discussed all phases +of the situation, "let's size this thing up together. In the first +place, Clay has undoubtedly discovered the lost channel." + +"It might have been found years ago," Clay said, "if the men who tried +to describe it had only said that it was a subterranean stream." + +"And now, the question is," went on the captain, "whether the charter +and the family jewels are anywhere in the cavern through which the +lost stream runs." + +"It seemed to me," Clay broke in, "that the cavern was big enough to +hold a small sized city. It is just the kind of a place where one +would naturally hide valuables." + +"It seems to me," Alex complained, "that the hardest part of our job +is still to come, even if we have discovered the lost channel. We +can't go up there and dive through the whirlpool, as Clay did, because +the outlaws would perforate us before we got anywhere near the falls." + +"I've been thinking of that," Clay said, "and I believe there is a way +to get into the cavern without getting wet. When I lay in the cavern, +high up on the ridge, before being taken to the shore, the men with me +emptied several tin cans of food and pitched them into a corner of the +cavern. One of the cans was sent along with a kick, and I heard a +splash of water when it fell." + +"Je-rusalem!" cried Alex. "Show me where that cavern is, and I'll take +a rope and go through the opening where the can fell!" + +"What would these fellows on shore be doing all the time you were +reaching the cavern?" asked Case. + +"I am certain," Clay went on, "that there is an opening from the floor +of the cavern to the chamber in which the lost river runs, for when I +came down, I saw a blur of light about halfway through the journey." + +"That settles that part of it, then," Captain Joe said. "We'll have to +wait for a suitable opportunity and get into the chamber by way of the +cave. And now," he continued, "I propose that we move out to the bay +or the St. Lawrence, where we won't be under the guns of the enemy, +and cook several square meals. Honest, boys," he went on, "I've been +so worried lately, that I've almost lost my appetite." + +"Yes," Case laughed, "I notice you consumed only half a dozen of those +Bismark pancakes for breakfast." + +The _Rambler_ was dropped down to the bay with the launch still by her +side, and, once out of rifle shot, the boys enjoyed the freedom of the +deck. + +"Now, we'll stay here until night," Captain Joe said, "and then we'll +see what we can do towards finding that cavern and dropping down into +the lost channel. We ought to explore it in one night with the help of +our searchlights." + +The plan mapped out by the captain was successfully carried out. +Leaving Jule on board the _Rambler_, the other members of the party +crept cautiously ashore that night, and were led directly to the +cavern by Clay. They were not disturbed during the journey. Off to the +east, they saw the reflection of a campfire and the sound of many +voices showed the boys that the outlaws were not at all anxious to +conceal their presence. + +The opening leading from the cavern to the channel of the stream was +large enough for even Captain Joe to pass through with comfort. +Directly under the opening was a ledge of rock and here the boys +landed. Almost at the point of entry they saw marks on the wall which +indicated that at some distant time an inscription had been carved +there. + +"We can't read the words," Clay said, flashing his searchlight over +the wall, "but at least it tells us that this is somewhere near the +scene of the old-time operations." + +Alex, who had been poking about around an angle of rock, now gave a +great shout of delight which called the boys to his side. + +"There's your old safe!" he cried, pointing up to a niche in the wall, +"and it's dollars to doughnuts that the lost charter and the jewels +are inside of it!" + +It was the work of only a few moments to bring the safe down from the +ledge of rock to where the boys stood. It was merely a box of steel, +not more than a foot in diameter each way, and was evidently +constructed with thin walls for its weight was not great. However, it +was tightly closed and the boys could see no means by which it might +be opened. There was not even a keyhole or a button. + +"We'll take it back to the _Rambler_," Captain Joe said. "Perhaps we +can find a way to open it there." + +"We'll find a way to open it," Alex exclaimed, "when we get hold of +the document Max was looking for in the cabin of the _Cartier_." + +"Good idea!" Captain Joe replied. "If you wait long enough, you'll +always find something like intelligence in the head of a boy!" + +When the party returned to the cabin, daylight was just showing in the +east and the noisy revel of those at the campfire had ceased. + +"I tell you what it is," Captain Joe exclaimed, "those fellows have +given up chasing us for the reason that they have arrived at the +conclusion that we don't know any more about the lost channel than +they do. At first, they doubtless thought the map might direct us to +it, but now they have given up that idea, and are satisfied to let us +hunt for the lost charter if we want to." + +"Yes, but they are still watching us, all the same," Clay replied, +"expecting to take the proceeds of the discovery away from us if we +are lucky enough to find what both parties are seeking for." + +This explanation of Captain Joe's seemed to be the correct one, for +the boys were not molested while on their way to the _Rambler_ with +the steel box. Having secured the box, the question now was how to get +it open, so nearly all that day, they searched among the papers in the +cabin of the _Cartier_ for some clue to the mystery. Before night it +was found in a bundle of old papers stowed away in a secret draw at +the bottom of the owner's secretary, where it had lain for a long +time. + +"This is easy," Clay said holding the paper up between his thumb and +fingers. "The box is only an old French puzzle box. Press on the upper +right hand front corner and a button will show. Press the button and +the box will open, and there you are." + +"What the dickens do you think the Fontenelles left this paper laying +around in a place like this for?" asked Case. "Do you suppose they +knew what it was?" + +"Of course they knew," Clay answered, "and the paper was brought along +so that the box might be opened as soon as found." + +Although the hinges and lock of the steel box were rusted, it was +opened with little difficulty and there were the family jewels and the +lost charter! In spite of difficulties, the boys had succeeded in +their quest. The search of more than three hundred years was ended! + +When the _Rambler_ and the _Cartier_ started away toward Quebec, they +left the men who had opposed them still on the peninsula. Reaching the +city, they lost no time in communicating the result of their +expedition to the Fontenelles. It is needless to say that the latter +were overjoyed at the recovery of the charter and the jewels. + +At the close of the interview between the elder Fontenelle and Clay, +the former wrote a check for ten thousand dollars and passed it over +to the boy. Clay smiled as he passed it back. + +"You remember," he said, "that we recovered the _Cartier_, and that we +searched her papers pretty thoroughly to discover the secret of the +steel box. Well, Captain Joe, our old friend from Chicago, has +conceived a great liking for the boat, and if you can induce your son +to give us the launch, and also to make no trouble for the poor people +who will suffer under this charter, we shall consider ourselves amply +repaid for all our trouble. It has been a pleasant excursion, anyway." + +"So far as the boat is concerned," the old man Fontenelle replied, +"you are entitled to it as salvage. Besides, now that the charter and +the jewels have been discovered, through your agency, the _Cartier_ +will no longer be elaborate enough for my son. He will have a handsome +yacht built, anyway, so you may as well take the launch. So far as +making trouble for those who have occupied our lands for years goes, +no one shall suffer except those who combined their wealth to obstruct +us. + +"And so you see," he continued, "that the check is yours after all." + +And the old gentleman would not accept "No." for an answer. + +"One thing I should like to know," Clay said, before leaving Mr. +Fontenelle, "and that concerns the mysterious map we received and the +manner in which it came into our possession." + +"I can set you right on that point," the old man said. "The man who +gave you the map and who was drowned that same night was long in our +employ. He finally became angry at some fancied slight and disappeared +taking with him valuable papers. It is believed that the crude map +delivered to you was among the papers he took. At any rate, on the day +before you saw him, he expressed to a relative remorse at what he had +done and promised to restore the papers. How he came to deliver the +map to you, knowing the _Cartier_ as well as he did, is something +which will never be known." + +The boys left Quebec the next morning without waiting for the return +of the men who were still looking for the lost channel on Cartier +island. Therefore they never saw either Lawyer Martin or Max again, +but they read later in the news dispatches of Max being sentenced to +the penitentiary for highway robbery. + +The boys went over the old ground on the river again to Ogdensburg, +where the _Cartier_ was fully equipped with new electrical apparatus +and then the two started away on their long journey up the lakes. + +Captain Joe, was, of course, overjoyed at becoming the owner of the +launch, which is now one of the show vessels on the South Branch. + +Captain Joe, the bulldog, and Teddy when in Chicago alternate between +the _Rambler_ and the _Cartier_, having a welcome on either boat. + +The boys were not content to remain long on the South Branch. In fact, +within a few days, they fitted the _Rambler_ out for a trip down the +Ohio river. What occurred during this trip will be related in the next +volume of this series entitled: The Six River Motor Boat Boys on the +Ohio; or, the Three Blue Lights. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. +Lawrence, by Harry Gordon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS ON *** + +***** This file should be named 38450.txt or 38450.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/4/5/38450/ + +Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was +produced from images made available by the HathiTrust +Digital Library.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/38450.zip b/38450.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..332bd4c --- /dev/null +++ b/38450.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e0b3b5c --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #38450 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38450) |
